During the course on Aboriginal interests that I did over the last 6 months, I took particular interest in the conflict over plans for the old Swan Brewery in Perth. Edge of Empire: Postcolonialism and the City by Jane Jacobs was written in 1996 so the issue is long since resolved, but it could easily occur again today. Developers wanted to create a shopping / leisure centre out of the old buildings. It would attract tourists and locals could enjoy the parkland surrounding it. Aborigines claimed that it was sacred land and wanted to restore it to parkland for all to enjoy. The natural spring that defined the sacred land may be gone for good, but the land could be made beautiful again. In the end, the WA government ruled in favour of the developers and the area is being built up in White Man’s interest.
On reading the article, I immediately thought of the museum at Hiroshima. While it’s not contested land, there is much to be learned from the museum in its bridging ability. It’s a gruesome exhibition of the horror of nuclear holocaust but it manages to do it in a way that doesn’t lay blame. It simply says, ‘this must never happen again.’
Instead of creating a restaurant or restoring the land to a wild state, couldn’t we have done something similar with the old brewery? The building could have housed a museum of the history of land disputes, showcasing examples of traditional Aboriginal use of land and land that has been colonised. It could have been a way of bridging the gap in understanding between our cultures.