side by side - a memorial to the stolen generations

Best interest White Australia Assimilation Christian Missions Risks Taken Shifted Protection They soon forget their offspring Die out Aborigines Protection Act 1909 Inferior Assume full control and custody BlacksHalf-caste Quadroons Octoroons Merging HerdAnimals State Children Relief Skin Auction Aboriginality Not fully human Social and Economic Urgency Not accepted Separation Different Elimination Camps Imprisoned Lost Guilt Useless Worthless Alone Stupid Mourning Unwanted Afraid Denigrating Be white Confused Traumatised Sadness Painful Distrust Heartrendring Cruelty Hostility Uncaring VIlified Self-blame Grief Disbelief Dormitories ViciousImpersonal Tradition Culture Identity Side by Side Not accepted Fear of loss Void No belonging No history Loss of country Erasure Displacement Incarceration Ashamed to be Aboriginal Dispossession Discrimination Exclusion No heritage No home No family Falsehood Rejection by parent Institutionalization Hidden heredity Never learnt to love Poverty Domestic servants Sexual abuse Genocide Depression Suicidal Alcoholics Liar Raped Punished Embarrassed Searching Cheated Work Grubs and weevils Rejection Colonialism Community Coconut Does she think about me? Fantasizing Lack of intimacy Cover up 100 000 + 1915 - 1969 Breed Out Stain

Side by SideA M E M O R I A L T O T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S

A N D R E W D A L P O Z Z O

U N I V E R S I T Y O F M E L B O U R N E D E S I G N T H E S I S 2 0 1 2

“I want the world to know the story so we can work side by side together to make this place a better place to live in. Let’s have both histories side by side.”

Marjorie WoodrowStolen Generations’ Testimonies Project

i

A B S T R A C T

As a young country only just over 100 years old, Australia has historically been very self-conscious of its identity. Even today, careful considerations are made regarding the way the nation tells its history.

Australia’s proudest moments can be seen throughout; the Shrine of Remembrance is visible from most of Swanston Street. However Australia’s darkest moments are ignored, seemingly to wipe the evidence from history.

Between 1915 and 1969, up to 100,000 children from indigenous Australian parents were forcibly removed from their families to be assimilated into a white society. This process aimed to ultimately breed out the country’s original inhabitants from the population. These events are known as the Stolen Generations.

To regain its credibility Australia needs to address the truth that apprehensively lingers and remember the darkest moment in its history. Each state in Australia needs a memorial to the Stolen Generations.

iii

C O N T E N T S

I N T R O D U C T I O N 1

T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S 3A History 5Art & Music 19

M E M O R Y 37Memorials 39Stolen Generations Memorials 47Memory in Art and Architecture 51

M E L B O U R N E 55Memory in Melbourne 57The Shrine of Remembrance 65Mapping 69

D E V E L O P M E N T 77

P R O P O S A L :A M E M O R I A L T O T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S 91The Project 92“From the Ruins of Colonialism” 94Lattice 117Side by Side 120Lost in Urbanity 124Detachment 128Triggering Memory 131Commemoration 133Education Centre 136Find Your Story 142

C O N C L U S I O N 149

R E F E R E N C E S 155

1

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The proudest moments of Australian history are well documented throughout the country. Amongst the eight states and territories, Australia boasts 6216 war memorials1, ensuring that the lives sacrificed for the country were not done so in vain. Melbourne’s numerous monuments are displayed quite publicly. The axis of Swanston Street terminates with the Shrine of Remembrance, which can be seen from many points of the city, while Parliament House stands high above Bourke Street, dominant as if it had been there forever. However, dark moments cast shadows over the proud moments the country wants us to remember. Between 1915 and 1969, events categorically known as the Stolen Generations saw the removal of up to 100,000 children from their indigenous parents2. The effort was to assimilate the Aboriginal race into white society, which in 1997 prompted an inquiry into genocide by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission3.

1 War Memorials in Australia

2 Bringing Them Home, 4

3 Windschuttle, Invention of the Stolen Generations

Australia has had the ability to cover up such heinous events for years; only in 2012 were the events added to the Australian History Curriculum at schools4 following Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s official apology in 2008. However the untold truth hangs about and until further reparation is made the country’s integrity will continue to be questioned. The other end of Swanston terminates at the former Carlton Brewery site. Standing since the 19th Century as the pride of new Australian culture, the site has since been vacant for 17 years5, earmarked for numerous development projects that have failed before they’ve started up. These ruins of colonial culture in the dilapidated brewery buildings provide the platform for a memorial to the Stolen Generations that would bookend the Shrine of Remembrance, mirroring Australia’s proudest events with its darkest. This memorial will tell the stories that have for so long been left untold; it will pit both stories side by side.

4 Wilson, Syllabus Overhaul Reignites Race Row

5 Grocon, Carlton Brewery

1 War Memorials in Australia2 Bringing Them Home, 43 Windschuttle, Invention of the Stolen Generations4 Wilson, Syllabus Overhaul Reignites Race Row5 Grocon, Carlton Brewery

T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S

4

“... These full-blooded aborigines are rapidly dying out... This bill is of an extraordi-narily simple and useful nature, and I hope it will be passed into law without any

impediment or objection being raised.”

E.W Fosbery in support of the 1915 amendment to the Aborigines Protection ActNSWPD, 24 November 1914, in Wilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 62

5

A H I S T O R Y

In 1869 the Board for the Protection of Aborigines was deemed the power to separate Aboriginal and “half-caste” children from their parents.6 In 1915, the process became institutionalized as laws made forcible removal legal without consent.7 It was an ongoing belief up until as recent as the 1940s that many white Australians believed the Aboriginal population were a “dying race.”8 The policies of assimilation were therefore to effectively breed out the race entirely – a form of genocide according to the 1948 Convention9. The ultimate goal was never realised, but the repercussions were significant. Many were scarred for life by the torment and punishments. They report sexual abuse and rape.10 Most of all, the loss of identity was impossible to deal with; many victims never met their parents or learnt about their pasts, describing a feeling of emptiness that could never be alleviated. Suicide rates and deaths in custody are significantly larger


7 Finding Your Story, 84

8 Reynolds, An Indelible Stain? 139

9 United Nations Treaty

10 In the Best Interest of the Child?, 71-72

amongst these people.11Aboriginal activism, mainly in Victoria, in the 1960s led to significant changes to the law in the following years.12 Forcible removal stopped shortly after the National Referendum granted Aboriginal people the right to vote in 1967. Soon after the Federal Racial Discrimination Act was passed, and the Aboriginal Children’s Service was established, controlled by Indigenous communities.13 Only in 1995 however was a national inquiry into the events of the Stolen Generations conducted – running from momentum from the 1994 Going Home Conference – resulting in adequate services being provided for the victims, such as counselling and access to archives.14 In 2008 the Australian Government finally apologized. Requests for reparation have followed: one being to educate Australia about the pain and suffering that has occurred on its soil, as racial tensions still impede the nation’s social stance in moving forward.


12 Finding Your Story, 89


14 Bringing Them Home, 4-7

6 Bringing Them Home, 117 Finding Your Story, 848 Reynolds, An Indelible Stain? 1399 United Nations Treaty10 In the Best Interest of the Child?, 71-7211 Bringing Them Home, 1812 Finding Your Story, 8913 Bringing Them Home, 12 14 Bringing Them Home, 4-7

6

“... These full-blooded aborigines are rapidly dying out... This bill is of an extraordinarily simple and useful nature, and I hope it will be passed into law

without any impediment or objection being raised.”

E.W Fosbery in support of the 1915 amendment to the Aborigines Protection ActNSWPD, 24 November 1914, in Wilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 62

7

Genocide:...any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a

national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

— Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of GenocideUnited Nations Treaties

8

“I would not hesitate for one moment to separate any half-caste from it aboriginal mother, no matter how frantic her momentary grief might be at the time. They

soon forget their offspring”

Travelling inspector, James Isdell, regarding the Aborigines Act (WA) 1905Bringing Them Home, 11

9

“Children are removed from the evil influence of the aboriginal camp with its lack of moral training and its risk of seriuos organic infectious disease. They are properly

fed, clothed and educated as white children, they are subjected to constant medical supervision and in receipt of domestic and vocational training.”

Chief Protector Cook, regarding the Aborigines Act (SA) 1911Bringing Them Home, 11

10

FIGURE 01

Screenshot from Rabbit Proof Fence, depicting the nature of forcible separation, Hanway Films, 2002

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FIGURE 02

Brother Luis Arrufat and students, St. Mary’s Orphanage, New Norcia WA, 1930 (Bringing Them Home)

14

FIGURE 03

Mission school from A.O Neville Collection (Bringing Them Home)

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FIGURE 04

Nurse with separated infants (Bringing Them Home)

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FIGURE 05

Kinchela Boys Home, NSW, 1940s (Bringing Them Home)

21

A R T A N D M U S I C

How emotion and events were portrayed in art and music was crucial to learning about the experiences of the Stolen Generations. Particularly studied was the art of Gordon Bennett and Trevor Nickolls; both contemporary indigenous artists affected by forcible removal laws. Bennett’s work had a strong focus on the terror of assimilation, such as in his ‘Notes to Basquiat’ exhibition (Figures 08 & 09, pages 26-29), where a lattice appeared often to represent the structures of white society. Nickolls’ work was slightly different, focussing on the effects of assimilation. ‘Machinetime Dreamtime’ and ‘Urban Scream’ (Figures 06 & 09, pages 22-25) address issues such as the struggle integrating into the western urban landscape, alcoholism and deaths in custody. Musicians such as Archie Roach and Midnight Oil were pioneers at sharing the stories of the Stolen Generations with the world at a time before it was acknowledged. However, more recently, The Presets speak of unspoken Australian histories in their song A.O. (Adults Only) - “The children mustn’t know that we’re living in a city that’s built on bones.”

22

FIGURE 06

Trevor Nickolls - Machinetime Dreamtime, 1981, National Gallery of Australia

24

FIGURE 07

Trevor Nickolls - Urban Scream, from Other Side Art Exhibition: 1972-1977

26

FIGURE 08

Gordon Bennett - Notes to Basquiat: Famous Boomerang, 1998, (Gellatly: Gordon Bennett)

28

FIGURE 09

Gordon Bennett - Notes to Basquiat: The coming of the Light , 2001, (Gellatly: Gordon Bennett)

30

FIGURE 10

Gordon Bennett - Self Portrait: Ancestor Figures, 1992, (Gellatly: Gordon Bennett)

32

FIGURE 11

Treana Ham - Assimilation, 1996, (Bringing Them Home)

34

FIGURE 12

Gordon Bennett - Self Portrait, 2001, (Gellatly: Gordon Bennett)

36

The welfare and the policemanSaid you’ve got to understand

We’ll give them what you can’t giveTeach them how to really live.

Teach them how to live they saidHumiliated them instead

Taught them that and taught them thisAnd others taught them prejudice.

You took the children awayThe children away

Breaking their mothers heartTearing us all apartTook them away

Archie Roach - Took the Children AwayHightone Records, 1990

37

We don’t serve your countryDon’t serve your king

Know your custom don’t speak your tongueWhite man came took everyone

Midnight Oil - Dead HeartColumbia Records, 1986

38

A.O.Children mustn’t know that we’re living in a city that’s built on bones

A.O.All the army goes “please enjoy this city before it explodes”

A.O.Here we here we go, it’s a pity it’s a feeling I can’t control

A.O.The children mustn’t know, this is Adults Only

The Presets - A.O.Modular Recordings, 2012

M E M O R Y

41

M E M O R I A L S

Many countries have memorialized their dark histories before Australia, acknowledging and educating everybody about their most regrettable events, proving that Australia can follow suit. In Buenos Aires, gruesome acts of the government’s dictatorship during the Dirty War of 1976-1983 have been remembered with paintings of the white shawls at Plaza de Mayo (Figure 13 vi). The paintings represent the shawls of the mothers who silently protested for their children who “disappeared” at the hands of the government.15 In Sarajevo, red resin filled the concrete scars of the mortar shells that tore through the city during the Bosnian War, creating monumental Sarajevo Roses throughout the city (Figure 13 v).16 A minimalist wall bounds the Constitution Gardens in Washington, where 58,272 chronologically inscribed names remember those killed or missing in the Vietnam War (Figures 13 vii, viii).17 Perhaps the strongest example of memorializing a horrific past is seen in Berlin (Figures 14 & 15), which has been the battlefield for so many wars over time. Berlin’s well-documented history is narrated throughout the city which dispels any apprehension about its undertakings, propelling it to become one of the most forward-thinking cities in the world.

15 Speaking Truth to Power: Madres of the Plaza de Mayo

16 Visit Sarajevo

17 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Washington Mall, 690-693

15 Speaking Truth to Power: Madres of the Plaza de Mayo16 Visit Sarajevo17 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 690-693

42

FIGURE 13

Examples of memorials: i) Handel & Peter Walker - 9/11 Memorial, New York City; ii and iii) Pink Cloud - Atlantis City Holocaust Memorial; iv) Charlotte Wilson - Women at War; v) Sarajevo Roses; vi) Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Memorial, Buenos Aires; vii) and viii) Maya Lin - Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, Washington DC

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vi

ii

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v

vii viii

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FIGURE 14

Peter Eisenmann - Memorial to the Murdered Jews of the Holocaust, Berlin, including inside Information Centre (bottom left)

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FIGURE 15

Examples of other memorials in Berlin: i) 17 June 1953 (East Berlin Uprising) Memorial, contrasting a painting of anticipated Soviet-occupied Berlin with an image of the reality; ii) Neue Waches Memorial to Victims of all Wars in Berlin; iii) Eastside Gallery, an outdoor art gallery on remnants of the Berlin Wall exhibiting art from Soviet refugees; iv) Daniel Libeskind - Garden of Exile, at Jewish Museum; v) Memorial to Homosexuals murdered in the Holocaust

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iv v

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S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S M E M O R I A L S

A number of temporary memorials to the Stolen Generations have been erected in Melbourne in the past, but have since been removed. There have also been some small monuments in other areas of Australia, yet these have remained insignificant based on their location and size.

50

FIGURE 16

Examples of Stolen Generations memorials: i) Statue at Even Hills Memorial Park, Adelaide; ii and iii) Monuments at Mount Annan Regional Park; iv) Memorial in gardens at Collingwood Commission Housing; v) Damian Pericles - Proposed memorial, Carlton Gardens; vi & vii) Memorial and plaque in Canberra

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i

iii

v

ii

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vi vii

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M E M O R Y I N A R T A N D A R C H I T E C T U R E

Memory is commonly a theme in art and architecture. Modern artists, like Doris Salcedo, have addressed uncovering of memory and this exploration is sometimes transferred to architecture. Peter Zumthor often explores memory and history in materiality, while others explore form, geometry and different ways to deal with existing buildings to retell a story and create a memory for a building.

54

FIGURE 17

Examples of memory in Art and Architecture: i) Doris Salcedo - Plagaria Muto, representing the overcoming of silent government murder in Chile; ii) Alberto Campo Baeza - Andalucia Museum of Memory, Granada; iii and iv) Peter Zumthor - Brother Klaus Field Chapel, near Cologne, Germany; v) Georgio Grassi - Competition Entry for War Memorial; vi) Giorgio Grassi - Segunto Roman Theatre Restoration, Valencia; vii) Tadao Ando - Theatre in the Rock, Oya

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iv

iii v

vIIvi

M E L B O U R N E

59

M E M O R Y I N M E L B O U R N E

Founded in 1835 and colonized in 1847, Melbourne became a powerhouse of the world following the gold rush in the 1850s. Its power was reflected in its monuments; Parliament House, The Treasury Building and Gardens, and the State Library of Victoria were all built in period. Their stone facades and revival-style designs ensured that the settlers appeared like they had owned the land for centuries. An apparent quote from Winston Churchill that “History is written by the victors”18 echoes through the streets of Melbourne, where few signs of the life of Indigenous Australians prior to European settlement exists. Despite apparent ambitions to “maintain friendly relations” with the Aborigines, the original inhabitants were removed from within the Colonial Reserve and into areas where they would “be placed under a zealous and effective protection”.19 Gradually the city expanded and the Aboriginal population was pushed further away from the fledgling township and effectively out of the sights of the Europeans. This ruthlessness was seen in the same attitude that saw Melbourne’s monumental grid force itself onto the land (Figure 18). The grid plan was massive, and took in little consideration to existing topography or buildings, apparently casting many settlers’ existing houses into the middle of the 30 metre roads

18 World of Quotes website, unproven

19 Lewis, Melbourne: The City’s History and Development, 21

that Hoddle had planned.20 While the grid has grown to work quite well in Melbourne, its planning symbolizes the ruthlessness the Europeans exercised to achieve their grand plans. While Melbourne was given no public square – probably to eliminate the chance of democratic protest – there were a number of large gardens that commanded blocks on the skirts of the city’s grid. Just the same, these gardens signalled moments of triumph, such as the Carlton Gardens, built to host the Melbourne International Exhibition in its state of the art Exhibition Building in 1880 (Figure 20 i). In 1934 however, utilizing the grid’s axial nature, Melbourne’s Swanston Street became monumental itself when it was concluded with a War Memorial. Sitting high over the street, the Shrine of Remembrance became Melbourne’s most significant monument, again designed to appear eternal. The Shrine remembers loss of life, but it reads gallantly, celebrating the sacrifices so many made for the country on the battlefield. Absent however is any reference to the bloodshed in the settlement wars, making us realise that it is descendents of the European settlers who write the history books and allow Melbourne to only remember the parts they are proud of.

20 Lewis, Melbourne: The City’s History and Development, 27

18 World of Quotes website, unproven19 Lewis, Melbourne: The City’s History and Development, 2120 Lewis, Melbourne: The City’s History and Development, 27

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FIGURE 18

Early map of Hoddle’s Grid. Source: Public Record Office Victoria

62

FIGURE 19

Monuments in Melbourne: i) Parliament House; ii) Treasury Building

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ii

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FIGURE 20

Memory and Monuments in Melbourne: i) Carlton Gardens, with Royal Exhibition Building in background; ii) Eight hour monument, Russell Street; iii) State Library of Victoria, Swanston Street; iv) Flagstaff Gardens, William Street

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ii

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T H E S H R I N E O F R E M E M B R A N C E

The Shrine of Remembrance has been meticulously designed to lead the public through a narrative of events. The procession begins at Swanston Street, but the tale symbolically never allows you to look back. You arrive, still on axis, to be guided past a promenade of trees into the forecourt where flagpoles stand proud and a flame burns eternally. Following through two sets of monumental stairs you move through a revived Ancient Greek portico into The Sanctuary where respects can be paid. Then you move down into The Crypt where the stories of the First World War are documented before you get lost in The Hall of Columns. Streams of light then channel you to the 4000 service

medals representing Victorian Soldiers; a proud climax. Alternatively, the narrative can begin in the new Visitor Centre, designed by Ashton Raggatt Macdougall Architects. The Shrine of Remembrance is Melbourne’s only building designed to lead the public through such a detailed recount of history. With its monumentality, and 160 odd ceremonies per year,21 you can be fooled to believe that no other event in Australia’s history compares to the 20th century battles. But the vacant block at the other end of Swanston Street that mirrors the site stands out in Melbourne’s city, much like the unspoken events of the Stolen Generations do amongst our told history.

21 The Shrine Story

21 Shrine of Remembrance, The Shrine Story

68

FIGURE 21

The Shrine of Remembrance: i) View of the Shrine from ARM’s entry Courtyard; ii) Inside the Crypt; iii) The Forecourt; iv) VIew back down Swanston Street, terminating at former Brewery site

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ii

71

M A P P I N G

A Memorial to the Stolen Generations must relate to the Shrine, mirror the Shrine, and forever stand just as monumentally as it to juxtapose our country’s memories of heroism and sacrifice with the memories of atrocity; providing a constant reminder that even those capable of such good, can be capable of such terrible. The site in question is the former Carlton Brewery site on the inflection point of Swanston Street, also bounded by Queensberry, Bouverie and Victoria Streets. For years the site has stood in ruins, blank. In its vast size this is a great contrast against the celebration of capitalist growth of the concrete city surrounding it and the triumphant European-style green blocks of the Carlton, Fitzroy and Flagstaff Gardens which

are the only unbuilt spaces nearby of comparable size (Figure 24). Notably the site is on the Victoria Street boundary of the original Colonial Reserve set by European settlers which set the first boundary between European and Aboriginal land.22 Although it is already an area of high pedestrian traffic, the CBD’s imminent expansion into its north23 will pit the site into almost the very centre of the city. With so many attributes this site pleads to be something significant; something absolutely different from a Grocon development (Figure 24). The correct treatment of this site – arguably a Memorial to further reconcile our country’s darkest moments – can transform this city into one of the world’s most modern and intelligent.

22 Presland, Aboriginal Melbourne, through Francesco Vitelli

23 Dowling, Carlton the New CBD?

22 Presland, Aboriginal Melbourne23 Dowling, Carlton the New CBD?

72

FIGURE 22

Map of Melbourne showing bookends of monumental Swanston Street axis; the Shrine of Remembrance and the former Carlton Brewery site.

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FIGURE 23

Map of Melbourne showing Hoddle Grid and city blocks on boundary: Federation Square and former Carlton Brewery site.

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FIGURE 24

Map of Melbourne’s north, showing current CBD, and predicted CBD expansion area, green blocks and former Carlton Brewery site as black mark in the centre.

D E V E L O P M E N T

80Studio MAndrew Dal Pozzo

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Ground Plan

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Memorial AL107 VIEW FROM NORTH @A3

A M E M O R I A L T O T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S

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T H E P R O J E C T

Unlike the common memorial, many of the victims of the Stolen Generations may still be alive. The design of any memorial faces the difficulty of trying to commemorate all affected, and like any event of genocide, finding all victims would be an impossible task. Some may have never known their stories, while the lives of many others may have taken some irreparable turns as they struggled to deal with their situation. The proposal therefore aims not to precisely remember those whose identities were lost, but to remember and emulate the pain and suffering that such experiences took them through - to educate to those who may not understand the circumstances fully - so it will not happen again. Acknowledging that I am not an Indigenous Australian, nor member of the Stolen Generations, I have looked to testimonies from victims, the work of modern Indigenous artists, and other forms of media to learn how to best translate the experience of these dreadful events.

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“ F R O M T H E R U I N S O F C O L O N I A L I S M ”

In the 1870s, Melbourne had become “the drinking and brewing capital,” proudly laying claim to “more than one thousand hotels… one for every 247 people.”24 Changing hands and lagers several times between 1857 and 1864, John Bellman moved his Wharf Brewery over to the site, took out a 26 year lease on it and changed the name to the Carlton Brewery. But it wasn’t until he was forced to sell the company, after limited success, to a Lancastrian named Edward Latham a couple of years later that the Brewery flourished. 25 With the recruitment of brewer Alfred Terry, a number of prized ales became the most popular in Victoria and would see the Carlton Brewery become a power.26 Celebrating its success, in 1873 Latham implored the “coronation” of the Brewery building with a landmark 3-storey brick building and a 80-feet high tower “that ruled the view up Swanston Street for 50 years.”27 The Brewery,

24 City of Melbourne, Melbourne Breweries, 3

25 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 3 - 15

26 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 20


and its mascot Jolly John Barleycorn, became Melbourne’s most cultural icon; most notable were the Eight-Hours processions in 1902 and 1905.28 30 years later, as the Brewery mirrored the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne become “defined by an idiosyncratic mixture of pleasure and solemnity.”29 Today, the site of once proud cultural values sits in ruins; metaphorically so does much of Australia’s cultural history as alternative stories have finally begun to be told. Chris Healy defines that “Aboriginal people are barely mentioned” in the prominent curricula book “The History of Australia and New Zealand from 1606 to 1901.”30 By framing the memorial within the remnants of this once proud building, we can link to Healy’s book’s title, uncovering the remnants of Indigenous Australian culture that was all but destroyed and replaced by its “drinking culture,” as we extract relics “from the ruins of colonialism.”


29 City of Melbourne, Melbourne Breweries, 2

30 Healy, From the Ruins of Colonialism, 123

24 City of Melbourne, Melbourne Breweries, 325 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 3 - 1526 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 2027 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 4228 Bailey, Carlton Brewery, 14029 City of Melbourne, Melbourne Breweries, 230 Healy, From the Ruins of Colonialism, 123

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FIGURE 25

1907 Block Plan of Carlton Brewery by Sydney, Smith & Ogg Architects (Bailey: Carlton Brewery).

Only bluestone walls of 1, 2, 3, 33 and 11 and the brick shell of 34 remain. Madeline Street was renamed Swanston Street, Ballarat Street is gone, and Victoria Street expansion consumed a large part of the south (left of plan).

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FIGURE 26

The former Carlton Brewery site: i) Eight hours procession led by float of Brewery mascot Jolly John Barleycorn, 1905 (Bailey: Carlton Brewery); ii) 1890s poster of the Brewery Company showing landmark tower and Latham family crest, (Bailey: Carlton Brewery); iii) Interior of fermentation plant, now Swanston Street ruins (Bailey: Carlton Brewery); iv) View down Swanston Street to Shrine; v) Remnants of Bluestone office building on Bouverie Street; vi) Sean Godsell’s Design Hub in contrast with remnants of malthouse building; vii) Panarama from north of site

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116

“Imprisoned... these kids that were taken away from their families, separated from their culture, their identity, had to put up with dreadful, dreadful things.... I always

tell people I cut my wrists here cutting a jam tin, because its very embarrassing admitting that I tried to commit suicide.... I was lonely, I was unhappy, I wanted my mother, I wanted my identity, I felt cheated, I wanted to be me, and I wasn’t be-

ing me.”

AnonymousWilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 83

117

L A T T I C E

Lattices and grids are often seen representing the man made; buildings, structures, city plans. They represent order and striation; Gordon Bennett is as indigenous artist, and descendent of the Stolen Generations, who often uses lattices in his work to depict just this (see Figure 09 page 29); “the lattice-like grid seems to physically represent the Eurocentric structures of language and representation.”1 Here a lattice is forced upon the site and is a metaphor of how these structures were imposed on indigenous Australians. The awkward twist forces you to gaze at the Shrine; forcing you to read Australia’s history the way they want you to. But the garden slowly pulls away uncovering the lattice to appear like the bones that the city is built on. The lattice slowly deteriorates as truth begins to unfold.

1 Gellatly, Gordon Bennett, 1931 Gellatly, Gordon Bennett, 19

120

S I D E B Y S I D E

The sudden twist of the memorial’s lattice holds you to a view of the Shrine of Remembrance. Baited by the monumental staircase from Bouverie Street, you are lifted by ramp that frames the Shrine. As the procession continues, your path becomes narrower, and appears as a cul-de-sac; you are reading history the way they want you to. But then, an exit reveals itself, an opportunity to leave the view the Shrine behind, and proceed into the Crypt to acknowledge the darker side of Australia’s history.

124

L O S T I N U R B A N I T Y

Efficiency became paramount as the industrialization modernized the western world in the 1900s. Tasks became systematic, and the world became concrete. Indigenous artist Trevor Nickoll’s exhibition “Dreamtime to Machinetime” (Figure 07 page 23) depicts the scourge of being thrust into western society, into western urban life. As you are taken into the crypt you begin to get lost underneath the mammoth blade of the concrete lattice, a comparison to being lost in white urban society. Concrete also relates to the 20th century transition of untidy murdering sprees to industrialized, systematic genocide of breeding out.

127

“At last, with a lot of shovin’ and that, the mother jumped off the plane and the pilot started up and away it went... they (the children) were still cryin’ and lookin’

back through the window leavin’ Victoria River Downs, all the time lookin’ right back through the windows.”

Kitty Maliwa, on the separation from her daughter, 1949Wilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 12

128

D E T A C H M E N T

With physical force children were pried away from their camps, thrown into cars or aeroplanes, and taken away. The fading image of their mothers through a dusty window would become for many children the last contact with their family, with their culture and with their identity. Drawing from this event, the concrete lattice tears through the Garden of the memorial, creating windows that look down 5.5 metres into the ground. Glimpses of people scurrying through the darkness relate to the glimpses of erased memory that may be evoked. There are 54 windows - one for each year the Aboriginal Protection Act was in force, which allowed the forcible removal of indigenous and “half-caste” children.

129

“We were removed and subject to systematic and deliberate attacks on our iden-tity as Aboriginals... Part of this assimilation was negative conditioning to think that Aboriginal people and culture were not worthwhile... creating feelings of confu-

sion, isolation and psychological trauma”

AnonymousWilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 39

131

T R I G G E R I N G M E M O R Y

The transition underground has been often used as a metaphor for evoking memory. Tadao Ando defines how the experience of moving underground changes your “state of mind.” Your surroundings transform; figure is now perceived as ground and the space itself is expressed as figure.”2 The idea is also inspired by the Venice Biennale exhibit, “Finding Country,” by indigenous architect, Kevin O’Brien. Life and event give to the idea of Aboriginal Country, which questions the idea of European Property.3 The city vanishes from your view as you descend down the spiral ramp, and you are given the opportunity to see what exists that cannot be seen on paper. The circular spaces defined by these ramps – blocking the city but well-lit by the sky – become gathering spaces, open for ceremonial events and celebration.

2 Ando, Sunken Courts, 115

3 O’Brien, Finding Country32 Ando, Sunken Courts, 11533 O’Brien, Finding Country

133

C O M M E M O R A T I O N

The memorial will be a place for commemorative events such as National Sorry Day, on May 26. For this, strips of concrete define a forecourt at the front of the lattice, south of the site, mirroring the forecourt at the Shrine of Remembrance. Processions along the monumental axis of Swanston Street can begin or end here.

136

E D U C A T I O N C E N T R E

Lost as you journey through the crypt, you will stumble upon the Education Centre. The totally outdoor centre contains eight haunting Rooms of Reparation, each with nine important plaques in the floor:

• Timeline of events of the Stolen Generations

• Testimonies of victims (see page 141)

• Art by victims

• Letters and documents

• Descriptions of Extinct Languages of Aboriginal People

• Imagery

• Handprint rooms - where members will leave their print and show their identities

140

EDUCATION CENTRE TESTIMONIES (OPPOSITE)

Sample testimonies from victims of the Stolen Generations as they may appear in the Education Centre. Source: Stolen Generations Testimonies Project

142

F I N D Y O U R S T O R Y

At the north-west corner of the site, only accessible from Bouverie Street, is Find Your Story. The centre will continually work to gather all of the archives and documents scattered around the State that may help victims find traces from their lost pasts. The event can be traumatic, and hence there will also be counselling offices in the centre. Due to the privacy needed for this centre, the lattice changes form, allowing light in through skylight windows, but blocking access to views from the Memorial Garden.

145

“The extinction of the Native race could not fail to leave an indelible stain upon the character of the British government.”

Sir George Murray, The Secretary of State for the ColoniesReynolds, An Indelible Stain?,4

146

“ A N I N D E L I B L E S T A I N ”

When viewed from above, you read the last page of the memorial’s narrative. The deep lattice that is always in shade, and the long shadows casted out over the site, become a black mark amongst the triumphal grey of the city’s buildings, and green of its public gardens. It links to the question of genocide, which materializes as a stain on Melbourne’s city.

149

C O N C L U S I O N

The history of a city is read through its memorials and monuments and Melbourne needs to finish the story. Victoria was the first place to lift the laws that allowed forcible removal; to be the first city in Australia to construct a permanent memorial to the Stolen Generations would be a fitting result. Education is a part of the reparation process, and this would be the ideal way to begin it. Melbourne has many sites that would become significant for a memorial, but it provides a sensational appropriation of the vacant lot of the former Brewery site. It will strongly finish the monumental axis of Swanston Street, which will now tell the whole story of Australia’s history; it’s brave and it’s ugly, side by side.

152

Justice will come

Why does it seemthat justice is rarely seen

Desecration of a black nationoften seems unnoticed and of no relation

Our people’s tearswill flow on for years

But this one thing is sureThat God, will be judge of all

Michael Paduch Duckett, 23.12.96Wilson, In the Best Interest of the Child?, 47

153

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

George SantayanaSantayana, Reason in Common Sense, 284

155

R E F E R E N C E S

T H E S T O L E N G E N E R A T I O N S

(1997), Bringing Them Home: A guide to the findings and recommendations of the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

(1997), Victorian Government Response to Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their families, Melbourne: Victorian Government

Wilson, T. J. (1997), In the Best Interest of the Child? Stolen children: Aboriginal pain/White shame, Lawson NSW: Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation

Reynolds, H. (2001), A Dying Race, An Indelible Stain?, Melbourne: Penguin Books, 139-154

Reynolds, H. (2001), ‘The Same Manner of Living’: Assimilating the Aborigines, An Indelible Stain?, Melbourne: Penguin Books, 155-180

Wilson, L. (2012), Syllabus Overhaul Reignites Race Row, The Australian, Sydney: News Corporation, January 29

(2000), Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, United Nations Treaties, New York: United Nations, www.un.org/millennium/law/iv-1.htm

(2012), Stolen Generations’ Testimonies, Stolen Generations’ Testimonies Foundation, www.stolengenerationstestimonies.com

Windschuttle, K. (2009), The Invention of the Stolen Generations, The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Volume Three: The Stolen Generations 1881-2007

(2005), Finding Your Story: A Resource Manual to the Records of the Stolen Generations in Victoria, Melbourne: Public Record Office Victoria

A U S T R A L I A A N D I T S H I S T O R Y

Healy, C. (1998), We Remember For You, From the Ruins of Colonialism, Melbourne: Cambridge University Press, 77-123

Lewis, M. (1995), Frontier Town to 1852, Melbourne: The City’s History and Development, Melbourne: City of Melbourne, 15-40

Presland, G. (1998), Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin, Melbourne: Penguin Books, summarized by Francesco Vitelli

Dowling, J. (2012), Carlton the new CBD? City to add 220,000 new residents, The Age, Melbourne: Fairfax Media, October 26

(2012), List of Australian Aboriginal Languages, Wikipedia, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_Aboriginal_languages

T H E C A R L T O N B R E W E R Y

Bailley, A. T. T. (2010), Carlton Brewery: Bouverie and Victoria Streets, Melbourne, Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing

(2010), Melbourne Breweries: The First and Last Factories, Melbourne: City of Melbourne

(2011), Carlton Brewery, Melbourne: Grocon

Moore, M. (2009), It’s off: Carlton Brewery site goes flat, The Age, Melbourne: Fairfax Media, April 17

156

R E F E R E N C E S

M E M O R I A L S A N D A R C H I T E C T U R E

(2012), War Memorials in Australia, Canberra, www.msk.id.au/memorials2/default.htm

(2012), Speaking Truth to Power: Madres of the Plaza de Mayo, Women in World History Curriculum, http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/contemporary-07.html

(2012), Sarajevo Roses, Visit Sarajevo, Sarajevo: Visit Sarajevo, http://www.visitsarajevo.biz/sightseeing/attractions/pieces-of-sarajevo/sarajevo-roses/

Ware, S. (2004), Contemporary Anti-Memorials and National Identity in the Victorian Landscape, Journal of Australian Studies, London: Routledge, No. 81, 121-133

Griswold, C. L. (1986), The Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Washington Mall: Philosophical Thoughts on Political Iconography, Critical Inquiry, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, No. 12, 688-716

Abramson, D. (1996), Maya Lin and the 1960s: Monuments, Time Lines, and Minimalism, Critical Inquiry, Chicago: University of Chicago Press No. 22, 679-709

Rossi, A. (1982),The Individuality of Urban Artifacts, The Architecture of the City, Cambridge MA (USA): Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 102-137

Campo Baeza, A. (2009), List of Works and Projects, Idea, Light and Gravity, Tokyo: TOTO Publishing,12-226

Zumthor, P. (2006), A Way of Looking at Things, Thinking Architecture, 9-26

(2012), The Shrine Story, The Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne: The Shrine of Remembrance, http://www.shrine.org.au/The-Shrine-Story

(2012), Sites of Remembrance, Berlin: Orte der Erinnerung 1933-1945

Ando, T. (2007), Sunken Courts, Sulgen (GER): Niggli Verlag

O’Brien, K. (2012), Finding Country Exhibition, Venice Biennale, Brisbane: La Biennale di Venezia, www.findingcountry.com.au

A R T A N D M E D I A

Dowling, J. (2007), Strange Fruit: Testimony and Memory in Julie Dowling’s Portraits, Melbourne: Ian Potter Museum of Art University of Melbourne

Gellatly, K. (2007), Gordon Bennett, Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria

(2012), Trevor Nickolls: Machinetime Dreamtime, National Gallery of Australia Collections, Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=89112

Noyce, P. (2002), Rabbit Proof Fence (film), Australia: Hanway Films

Roach, A. (1990), Took the Children Away (song), Australia: Hightone Records

Presets, The (2012), A.O. (Adults Only) (song), Australia: Modular Recordings

Midnight Oil (1986), The Dead Heart (song), Australia: Columbia Records

side by side - a memorial to the stolen generations

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