The Pemulwuy forward

An aversion to the Block is understandable considering its stormy track record. It is a history that is replete with drug and alcohol-related crime. Then there were the riots in 2004, sparked by the tragic death of TJ Hickey, who was impaled on a fence while fleeing from police.

For the past nine years a non-profit organisation called the Aboriginal Housing Commission has worked to transform the Block to a fulcrum of indigenous culture.

The Pemulwuy Project was conceived between Sydney University’s Architecture Department and the Aboriginal Housing Company. It proposes to create a cultural and civic forum as well as restore 62 of the terraces on the Block that have either been demolished or have simply degenerated with age.

From the outset, the AHC struggled to raise funds and win support from the State Government. The Company has been at loggerheads with the state administration, culminating in Frank Sartor’s appointment to the head of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority and his plans to transform Redfern into an Aboriginal-free suburb of commercial splendour.

But in the new political climate, both residents and the AHC are confident that public opinion is turning in their favour. “Peoples’ attitudes are changing,” said Peter Valilis, the AHC’s project director. “I think that Frank Sartor really had a cancerous effect on people in the government.”

Mr Valilis accepted a position as project director nine years ago and inherited an empty cash inventory which now boasts over $5 million after years of negotiations with banks and the state government.

“Do you know that this morning the banks actually came to us and offered a deal? What amazes me is that not only did they initiate it, but they did it in a time of such crisis,” he said.

While Valilis (a former real-estate agent) is the logistical mastermind behind the plan, Mick Mundine is its spiritual leader.

As the company’s CEO, Mundine plans to restore the pride and patriotism of the Block’s residents.

It’s a spirit that refuses to be diluted and its tenacity strikes a jarring contrast with the forlornly fragmented exteriors of their homes. The word ‘respect’ underpins and resonates throughout their rhetoric, and the sense of community and profound reverence for their land is an ever-present source of pride.

“It’s good if people have respect,” said Anka Freeman, a young woman who has lived in the Block her entire life.

“If they know that there are families and people who live here and they’ve got to respect that it’s not just a drop-in centre.

They tend to use and abuse our people here. They should have a lot of respect for our people here.

“We are still a tight community because we look after each other, things have changed in the last 20 years but it’s not changing what we believe in as Aboriginal people and how we respect one another and we still respect our elders here. And this is part of our culture, and this is our land. This land belongs to the Aboriginal people.”

Mr Mundine is known as ‘Uncle Micky’ around the Block, and the men, women and children all seem to trust him implicitly.

“Just to make it clear, I’m only doing this because you’re with Micky,” said a middle-aged woman called Malvinna Welsh who agreed to have her photo taken for The City News.

“Drug and alcohol abuse is what caused the problems that we face today,” said Mick Mundine. “If the tenants continue to be involved with drugs then it’s a no. They would never ever get support from the company, point blank.”

Mundine’s grand vision involves not only 62 new houses for the Block’s residents (the number is symbolic of the 62 families of the Gadigal people of Redfern who died en mass from a smallpox epidemic during the British settlement) but the construction of a public civil space, retail area, art galleries, elementary and tertiary colleges and a sports facility. A glass fronted community centre and gym have already been built, both of which attracts a number of non-indigenous people in the area.

“A lot of people have been introduced to the Block through the gym,” said Alex Toole, artist of the famous wall painting of the Aboriginal flag across from Redfern station and a trainer at the gym. “People come to see the real picture of us and realise that the media exaggerates a lot.”

The grand plan will transform the face of the Block and that of Redfern as a whole, but the project leaders haven’t allowed their heads to be clouded by ambition or compromise. The key is to be pragmatic. While funds can be raised and support from the government can be courted, the fundamental habits of some Aborigines may be irreversible.

Only 62 families will be granted ownership of the new houses and the selection criteria is based on social record.

“One of the biggest problems of the Block has been that people assume that we would fix all the problems of every Aboriginal family. And the reality is that we’re a very small company and we can only have an impact on only 62 families and not beyond that,” said Mr Valilis.

The Pemulwuy Project extends beyond mere architectural restoration. It’s a battle to restore faith in the Aboriginal people, confidence in their ability to self-sustain and achieve equal statuses with their non-indigenous counterparts.

“It’s about time our people stood up to be accountable too,” said Mr Mundine. “I mean you look around and the people who are representing us are shooting up or abusing alcohol and that’s very sad for our people. They haven’t got the self-esteem any more and it’s time for us to change it all. It’s time to show again that we are a great people of culture and intelligence.”

Deputy Lord Mayor Marcelle Hoff sees the Pemulwuy Project as a watershed for Redfern.

“I expect that the Pemulwuy project, once completed, will add enormously to Redfern’s capacity to become the most significant urban focus for Aboriginal culture,” she said. “Both the Eora Journey and the indigenous cultural centre will be inextricably linked to the Block.”

The residents themselves often reminisce about the glory days of the ’70s when the AHC was first formed after a grant of $530,000 from the Whitlam Government to restore and purchase 29 terraces. It was to be the first urban land ownership grant in Australia. The indigenous population soared between 1976 and1981 as a result of the housing project and the group of terraces which became known as the Block, attracted indigenous people from all over the city to gather and celebrate their culture.

“This was the most exciting place to live in the ’70s,” said Mr Welsh. You knew everyone and everyone would come visit from all over the state. It was all happening here at Redfern. And I’m confident that this will happen again with the new breed of politicians coming up.”

“Frank Sartor didn’t just try to break the spirit of the Aboriginal people. He tried to break the spirit of everybody. Kristina Keneally, the new Planning Minister is a grassroots lady and I feel that she could work very well with us,” said Mundine.

Mick Mundine isn’t the only man in Australia with a vision for reform, nor is he the first. But for the Aboriginal residents in Redfern, he is both a mentor and a role model to the next generation, an example of how Aborigines can co-exist with the non-indigenous community, and not as inferiors but as equals.

In the near future, commuters might actually pause upon emerging from Redfern station and marvel at what could be an exhibition of a culture that has weathered centuries of abuse. They might even wish to cross the street and stroll around its fitness centres or visit its art galleries and speak to its artists.

Source: www.alternativemediagroup.com/ThreadView.aspx?tid=11786#post_11786