By ERWIN CHLANDA
The art gallery should be “South of the Gap” was the main message of protesters at the foot of Anzac Hill yesterday, but a spokesman for Chief Minister Lea Finocchiaro confirmed this morning this is not what they are going to get.
One speaker at the protest said: “We won’t budge.”
The crowd of 60, young and old, had entered this major women’s sacred site through a pre-existing hole in the fence. Fittingly it was mostly women, about half of them black and half white, a sign of mutual support, as one of them put it.
The present conflict is likely to be a repetition of the row between the Labor government four years ago and a section of the Aboriginal community not unlike yesterday’s.
The Minister responsible for the gallery, Lauren Moss, said in May 2020: “Clearly no site will get consensus.”
It seems today’s CLP Chief Minister is creating a narrative inviting the same conclusion.
Last week, announcing a “pause” in project, she said: “We will make sure people in Alice Springs and associated communities understand next steps and come on the journey with us in developing the best facilities for the Red Centre.”
Said one woman: “They are trying to look like good guys. A political stunt, but it looks like doing the same thing as the last government, dominate over the voices of the people, and not consulting properly about what the people from here want.”
Another woman: “Is it for the rugby kind of audience, or first nations people, and their voices?”
Another woman: “There is no good will towards us.”
In 2020 Benedict Stevens, as Apmereke artweye a senior custodian for the town, having at first supported the Anzac Hill site, joined Apmereke artweye Doris Stuart and other custodians to demand the gallery to be sited south of The Gap, .
Mr Stevens subsequently reverted to tacit support of the Anzac Hill site. Ms Stuart has remained adamantly opposed. She was not present yesterday because of illness but her family was strongly represented.
A senior member of the Stuart family, Faron Peckham (pictured, with Yvonne Driscoll), as the last speaker, said the new government “drew in the rugby union and league fraternity … conquering and dividing.
“She [the Chief Minister] was very clear, it was not to be south of The Gap. She had to put her mark on the project.
“We won’t budge, because this site is significant. It forms part of our cultural landscape here. It’s about us. It’s about the future generation.
“Watching the destruction now, what future does it give them? What cultural identity does it give them when they live here? We’re not going to be directed by what they [the government] are saying.
“This is our country. You are our community. We share this country. We’ve always shared this country, on the premises of respect and acknowledgement. We should not become a byproduct of commercialisation.
“We’ve got to go back to the roots of who we are as people or as a community.
“She [the Chief Minister] had no mind about the anti social stuff that’s happening in this town. They seem to discard it. There is tourism and commercial interest other than what I call poverty. Building an art gallery here isn’t going to fix it.”
Politicians were thin on the ground yesterday. MLA for Braitling Joshua Burgoyne had been invited but didn’t show.
Town Council member Marli Banks was there and encouraged the crowd to attend question time at the next council meeting, and perhaps send a deputation to Darwin when Parliament resumes next month.
PHOTO at top: Arrernte custodians of this women’s site (from left) Kristy Bloomfield, Kirsty Bloomfield, Elaine Peckham, Karen Liddle, Barb Satour. Rear: Zania Liddle, Dorn Ross and Colleen Mack.
I really hope the Chief Minister listens to the custodians and locals. If her party agrees to build the gallery south of The Gap they can build it tomorrow. We plan to continue the fight to build the gallery SOUTH OF THE GAP.
Can anyone enlighten me.
1. Where, South of the Gap is proposed by those who want it there?
2. Why South of the Gap, and not anywhere else?
South of The Gap is so obvious and a part of a completely new tourism precinct involving Desert Knowledge and using Yirara college students as proponents of Indigenous culture and a training ground for training students in its management.
There is so much Indigenous knowledge to be presented at DK but never presented to the public as such.
It’s past time to recognise that the current CBD is past its use by date for tourism alone.
It should now concentrate on admin, accomodation and retail.
Parking is the major constraint as the current CBD was never intended to cater for traffic flows like we now have and the Cultural centre there will only add to that.
As a partly disabled person it was painful to watch a large caravan park in the bus stand opposite the PO to collect mail. That illustrated the point perfectly.
The commercial eateries and large supermarkets recognise and planned for vehicle custom years ago. The Transport Hall of Fame should be on integral and major part of a new tourism precinct and display what the whole of the NT has to offer, not just Alice, and connected to the attraction grabber \ welcome rock.
Two weeks ago I sat there for an hour while over 60 tourists were photographed on that rock. Two years ago the number was 102 in an hour. This is the tourism target market that is expected to get to the CBD and spend. The key to the success of the cultural centre apart from the wishes of the Indigenous community, is parking ease, as with any other commercial enterprise.
This is obviously less difficult outside of the CBD. McLaren Vale tourist centre was planned around bus / vehicle parking. We did the opposite.
I would like to see the road verges of the entrance to the town a Desert Park type like display of bush tucker gardens maintained and promoted in a very positive way by the corrections people who do a great job in that area, and part of a complete package, and what is possible here, together with a historical display of pioneer equipment as in Queensland and a giant Aileron type statue of our combined history – an indigenous family, and a settler.
They are all part of our combined culture and should be displayed as such.
During a recent funeral I counted 13 caravans heading to the Hall of fame. This is grossly under utilised as an attraction.
Winton even has a solar powered electric shuttle bus taking people unencumbered with caravans etc to where they want them to spend their money.
We could easily copy that but our vision is very limited so far.
This is a golden opportunity to change that. This is the target market for the cultural centre and very difficult to cater for in the CBD.
We should build nothing unless it is accessible to the poorest and most marginalised in our community.
That means it needs to be accessible by walking.
To build something where people remain dependent on white peoples’ shuttle-buses, shuttle-bus timetables, and shuttle-bus fees in order to access what ought to be their birthright would be a total and systemic injustice.
Wherever the gallery is built children and young people need to be able to walk to it, be able to access it daily, independently, at their own pace, forever.
I would hope that everyone black or white, TO or not, TO will place the issue of accessibility at the centre of the debate. It should be our first and last priority.
Wherever it is built, a gallery needs to be accessible by those who walk daily into town.
Then we will ensure that the young and most marginalised people of our community do not end up excluded from the very place that should bring pride and hope and inspiration.
Access.
Walking.
Why build it at all?
“Majority” proposes and finances. “Black” apposes. When is this road blocking going to stop?
Stop the fairy tales and power play. 2024 onwards can produce a land of wealth, opportunity and harmony for all if only the muscle flexing would stop.
The Telegraph Station is out of town and visited by the hoards of tourists and locals. Build the Gallery out of town in a absolute ideal setting that reflects the wonder of the “AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK.”
It was a rookie political mistake by the CLP to open this can of worms.
They could have left the plan untouched with the gallery an ongoing issue for the previous government.
By intervening, they have drawn the wrath of opponents to the oval location.
The opposition would be delighted to see the CLP in their position before the election and no one to blame but themselves.
This is not a good start for the CLP.