draft bennett brook nyungar cultural and environmental concept

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Content

PageSection

01 Introduction 102 Land Use Context 203 Cultural Context 404 Site Context 505 Consultation Process 606 Draft Concept Plan 707 Conclusion 14

Appendices

i Appendix ADraft Bennett Brook Nyungar

Cultural Environmental Concept Plan 13


Korndin Kulluch - A Place of Reconcilliation Draft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural and Environmental Concept Plan Report

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01 Introduction

Nyungar people were invited jointly by site administrators, Building Management and Works (BMW) and the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) to assist in the preparation of a concept plan for the Pyrton and Lockridge Reserves (formally known as the Swan Valley Nyungar Community camp site). The Draft Bennett Brook Cultural and Environmental Concept Plan Report has been prepared to document the site planning options undertaken following community consultation with Nyungar families and indigenous metropolitan stakeholder groups culturally associated with the project study area.

A consultation process facilitated by southwest Nyungar consultant Kallip Pty Ltd in coordination with UDLA and Hassell has endeavoured to record the voice of the Nyungar people in a future use concept plan for the project site and study area. To ‘ask first’ in this concept planning exercise recognises the importance of Nyungar connection to country, of preserving and promoting

Nyungar culture and the opportunity to provide a positive future for the project study area by maintaining a continuous indigenous connection. The project site is located north-east of Perth on Lord Street, Eden Hill in the Town of Bassendean (refer Figure 01). A description of the project study area’s characteristics, land use and cultural context follow within the body of the report. Throughout the consultation process it was recommended that the broader environmental opportunities of the project site be included in the discussion, such as the land management and rehabilitation of adjoining WAPC managed sites. These include Grogan Swamp, Bennett Brook, the Swan River foreshore and cleared land east of Bennett Brook. This broader discussion area is noted as the ‘Project Study Area’ in Figure 01.

The consultation process also identified that the project study area is centrally connected to Nyungar ‘Country’ and is one of a number of significant sites

located along the Swan River (refer Figure 02). Thus there is an opportunity to connect and physically link this cultural site with other Nyungar projects. These include: _Yagan Memorial Park, Belhus_SIRG Nyungar Cultural Centre Feasibility Study_Walyunga National Park_Whiteman Park_Blackadder Creek_John Forrest National Park_Swan River Trust ‘Nyungar Swan River Trail’

Pyrton

Kings Park

Fremantle

Walyunga National Park

John Forrest National Park

WhitemanPark

Yagan Memorial Park, Belhus

Future Cultural Centre, Viveash

Perth

Figure 01_Site Location Plan

Figure 02_Cultural Context Plan

Korndin Kulluch - A Place of ReconcilliationDraft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural and Environmental Concept Plan Report

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02 Land Use Context

Background The area considered in this report includes the Pyrton Reserve currently managed by the Building Management and Works Division (BMW) and Lockridge Reserve, the former Swan Valley Nyungar Community (SVNC) camp site, currently in the care of the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC), together with adjoining WAPC owned lands that form part of Whiteman Park.

At the time BMW and the WAPC were considering the future use of these sites similar management issues prompted a close dialogue between the two agencies. It was recognised that indigenous cultural heritage is a paramount feature of both sites, together with contiguous lands along Bennett Brook, the adjoining Success Hill Reserve and the Swan River foreshore. A holistic approach to reviewing land use and management for these areas was therefore considered appropriate.

Because of the cultural significance of the broader area, it was agreed to engage with Nyungar people with recognised connections to this country

regarding use and management of the two sites and adjoining lands in WAPC ownership.

This approach aligns strongly with the Australian Heritage Commission’s Ask First principles and the State Department of Premier and Cabinet’s Guide, Consulting Citizens, Engaging with Aboriginal Australians 2002.

In accordance with an MOU between the WAPC and the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC), the WAPC and BMW initiated a joint engagement strategy to identify relevant Nyungar connections to country and authority to speak and identify their aspirations regarding these culturally significant places. The draft Korndin Kulluch – A Place of Reconciliation – Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural and Environmental Concept Plan is the outcome of the consultation process.

This report is the first step in a process of wider community engagement that offers the opportunity for a substantial and meaningful act of reconciliation

with Nyungar people on land that is a vital element of their spiritual and ancestral heritage.

Funding and management arrangements are yet to be determined, but can be taken further if there is support for the concept plan.

Implementation of the plan is subject to wider community consultation, final endorsement by government and ultimately heritage and planning approvals.

Pyrton ReserveThe Pyrton Reserve comprises 35 hectares of land overlooking the confluence of the Swan River and Bennett Brook in Eden Hill.

The land is set aside as Crown Reserve 47783 for Use and Requirements of the Minister for Works and is managed by BMW.

The land is currently reserved for Public Purpose - Hospital in the Metropolitan Region Scheme requiring rezoning to permit an alternative use and is subject to a Planning Control Area requiring approval from the WAPC to any future development proposal. It is also reserved Special Use -

Hospital under the Town of Bassendean Town Planning Scheme.

The Pyrton Reserve is a contaminated site arising primarily from the extensive application of dieldrin to the building pads of the former buildings that were demolished between 2007-2009. The land comprising Pyrton Reserve was acquired by the State Government in freehold during the 1950’s for mental health purposes.

It was developed during the 1960’s and prior to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 coming into effect, as a residential facility for persons with intellectual disabilities. The facility provided up to 180 beds with additional uses including staff quarters, kitchen, maintenance facility, hospital, resident workshop, store, laundry and training rooms.

During the early 1990’s the Disability Services Commission commenced a program to relocate its clients to community based facilities and by 2000 the site was decommissioned.



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02 Land Use Context

A number of future use proposals have been considered for the Pyrton Reserve in the past, including: _Rezoning to urban for housing development of the whole and parts of the site_A Women’s Pre-Release facility, which was ultimately abandoned _A Structure Plan advocating use of the site for parkland and about 15% of the site for housing to fund management of the site as a community asset by the Whiteman Park Board.

Nyungar people were not directly consulted in the development of these proposals. They did not proceed for a number of reasons, including general community opposition, divided opinion and because these uses were not compatible with the heritage significance attributed to the site by indigenous people.

A subsequent proposal to sell the Pyrton Reserve to the Indigenous Land Corporation also failed to be negotiated.

In consultation with the WAPC it was agreed that the future of the Pyrton Reserve should be

considered in terms of the broader planning context involving adjacent WAPC owned and controlled land.

Bennett Brook and Lockridge Reserve LandsThe suburb of Lockridge was named after a property formerly located on the banks of the Swan River and owned by a prominent colonial family, the Hamersleys.The area known as Eden Hill was originally called Pyrton (which was the name of the parish and manor the family came from in Oxfordshire).

The Hamersley family made part of their property available to Nyungar people who had been displaced from their traditional camping areas due to expanding settlement. This included land above Bennett Brook and Grogan Swamp on which the former Swan Valley Nyungar Community camp site was located.

The WAPC purchased most of the land on either side of Bennett Brook from the Swan River up to Whiteman Park over a number of years for its environmental values and reserved it for Parks and Recreation under the

Metropolitan Region Scheme.

In the early 1980’s an Aboriginal group calling themselves ‘The Swan Valley Fringedwellers’ began the establishment of a permanent camp with built structures and agitated for formalised tenure.

In 1994 the Swan Valley Nyungar Community was granted a Management Order under S33 of the Land Act 1933, which provided exclusive possession of the site but not ownership, which remained with the State.

The camp site was closed by an Act of Parliament in 2003 arising from a Coronial Inquiry into the death of a teenage girl at the camp site and the Gordon Inquiry into child abuse in Aboriginal communities.

The Management Order over the camp site was transferred to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and then to the WAPC, who placed a Planning Control Area over the camp site and the adjacent Pyrton Reserve, requiring special approval of the Commission for any development proposals.

It has been the WAPC’s intention to give effect to an earlier Cabinet decision to remove the former camp site infrastructure and return the site to an environmental area with appropriate Nyungar interpretation.

Existing trail to Bennett Brook Pyrton Reserve


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03 Cultural Context

Pyrton Reserve is located within a much larger area that since 1984 has been identified as an Aboriginal site relevant to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.

There are several recorded archaeological sites on Pyrton Reserve or on land immediately adjacent to the site with the potential for as yet undiscovered sites to be located in the area. This is consistent with the Nyungar use of Pyrton Reserve and adjacent lands over a long period of time.

The parents and grandparents of a number of current Whadjuk Nyungar elders interviewed during the consultation process were born at the project site, the project study area and at the adjacent Success Hill Reserve.

There are strong cultural, mythological and historical connections to this area for Nyungar people. Some of this significance is related to the mythology inherent in the nearby Swan River, especially its confluence with Bennett Brook, and the adjacent bend known as ‘Devil’s Elbow’. There is a belief that the important mythical being

known as the Waugal inhabits the river in this area.

In essence, this area was part of a Nyungar traditional meeting place and kulluch or homeland. As colonial townships expanded it became a refuge area for Nyungar people during the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. This was largely due to the relatively benevolent attitude of the Hamersley family who owned the land for much of the time.

The continual Nyungar presence on the land over generations is attested to by the research work of Daisy Bates, the well known early ethnographer, who based herself at the Pyrton Reserve in 1912. Bates recorded the lived experience and history of the Whadjuk Nyungar people at the site and the heritage that continues to connect them to the project study area today.

Existing site vegetation



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04 Site Context

TopographyThe elevation of the project site ranges from 10m AHD in the north-eastern corner to 21m AHD in the south western corner. The slopes on the project site are mainly on a flat to gentle gradient in keeping with it’s location on the eastern edge of the Swan Coastal Plain.

The land does however drop away sharply to the east down to the Bennett Brook floodplain and eventually to the Swan River. In some places, the eastern project site boundary is 10m below the ridge top. A small, but deeply incised valley is located in the south-eastern corner of the project site. Soils The project study area is located on the Bassendean Dune System and is characterised by low hills of quartz sand with seasonal swamps and sand flats. The river foreshore and the low-lying riverine flats are alluvial clays and silts of the Guildford Soil Formation.

Hydrology and Bennett BrookLocated on the south-eastern side of the Gnangara

Groundwater Mound, the project study area’s groundwater flow is predominantly towards the east, with most groundwater discharging into Bennett Brook and south into the Swan River.

The average minimum depth to groundwater of the project study area ranges from around 6m to 0m. Small-scale areas of surface water and waterlogging occur in the north of the project site and have been classified as Multiple Use wetlands. As such they are recognised as having few important ecological attributes or functions remaining but there is an opportunity to enhance and improve these wetlands through protection and management.

A spring also occurs in the small valley in the south-eastern corner of the project site and discharges into the nearby Swan River.

Flowing from Whiteman Park to the Swan River, Bennett Brook is 17.5km long and forms an important wildlife corridor for fauna in the area. As previously described, Bennett Brook is also culturally important as it is said to have been created by the Waugal and to be the place where

it still lives beneath the river.

At the project site location Bennett Brook is a dispersed, swampy area ranging in width from 50 to 300m. Along with Grogan Swamp, Bennett Brook is classified as being a Conservation Class wetland.

Flora and FaunaAs a result of past uses the project site has been cleared of most of its indigenous vegetation and now mainly consists of cleared land with significant plantings of exotic and Australian native ornamental trees.

Around the Bennett Brook, Grogan Swamp and Swan River foreshore locations of the project study area species such as Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus rudis), Freshwater Paperbark (Melaleuca rhaphiophylla), Swamp Sheoak (Casuarina obesa) and wetland rushes and sedges are common. These areas occur in a Bush Forever Protection Area (BFS 305).

Two small pockets of remnant vegetation are located in the Multiple Use wetlands area of the project site and comprise of

Freshwater Paperbark (Melaleuca pressiana) and Moonah (M. raphiophylla) with heavily disturbed understories largely dominated by introduced plants and weeds. No Threatened Ecological Communities (TEC’s) have been identified in the project study area.

A range of exotic and Australian native ornamental trees have been planted at the project site since the development of the site in the 1960’s as a ‘campus style’ institution for the intellectually disabled.

Commonly planted species include River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Pine (Pinus sp.), Lemon-Scented Gum (Eucalyptus citriodora), Swamp Mahogany (Eucalyptus botryoides), Native Peppermint (Agonis flexuosa), Phoenix Date Palm (Phoenix caneriensis), Jacaranda (Jacaranda sp.) and Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomun camphora).

Most of the trees are around 30-40 years old with several trees reaching significant heights and diameters, providing an established character and a

esthetic for the site.

The small area of remnant vegetation and ornamental trees provide some habitat for a variety of common bird, snake and reptile species but species of significant or threatened fauna are not expected to occur in the project study area due to the small area of remnant vegetation and being so close to built-up residential development.

Potential ContaminationA number of areas of the project site have potential contamination issues, primarily from the extensive application of dieldrin to the building pads of demolished buildings. Strategies such as minimal soil disturbance and capping will need to be employed to manage the affected soils.

Most of the project site is identified as having ’low to moderate’ risk of developing acid sulfate soils with the low-lying, river foreshore areas associated with the wider project study area considered as having a ‘moderate to high’ risk.


6 The cultural consultation process involved Nyungar people with recognised connections to the project study area being invited to discuss the future use and management of the site.

SWALSC, as the native title representative body, identified seven family groups and two indigenous metropolitan stakeholder groups to take part in the consultation process. Over several months, each group was given the opportunity to share their stories, experiences and knowledge of the project study area and the direction any concept planning should take. Mapping ExcersiseOpportunities and planning directions were initially recorded through Nyungar cultural mapping. A large aerial plan of the site including the broader project study area was used to clearly and spatially define areas of interest and importance. Opportunities and DirectionsFollowing consultation with each group, areas that were continually mentioned for potential cultural uses and specific cultural value were

collated onto an Indicative Opportunities and Directions plan (refer Figure 03). Associated Nyungar images were then included to further represent the possible site conceptual uses.

The initial areas of interest included:_Proposed protection of culturally significant sites;_A broad area for general cultural use;_ An area allocated for a range of accommodation options;_ An area set aside for vegetation rehabilitation, land management and possible Eco-tourism use;_An area related to the former Swan Valley Nyungar Community camp site proposed as a site of Nyungar reconnection.

It was understood that for a successful cultural consultation process it was important that the Concept Plan was developed from Nyungar people’s expressed directions.

Therefore the Opportunities and Directions plan was presented again at a meeting of all family and stakeholder groups and at a

further two meetings of Nyungar elders to allow for further discussion, input and to reach a consensus on what a future concept plan may comprise.

The outcomes from these discussions were then formalised in the Draft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural and Environmental Concept plan.

The Draft Pyrton Consultation Report contains further background information on the cultural consultation process, including the collated recorded material.

05 Cultural Consultation Process

Figure 03_Indicative Opportunities and Directions Plan

Land Management andLand Management

Training

Cultural WalKing ToursInterpretive

Signage

Land Managementand Eco-Tourism

Ceremonial Place

Men’s and Women’sBusiness

Culturally Restricted

Hospitality and Tourism Training

Hostel Accommodation/

Kids Camp

Eco-Lodge

Conference/ Function Room Building

Opportunities

Teaching and Meeting Place

After-School/ School Holiday

Programs

Native Plant Nurseryand Horticultural

Training

Culture

Art, Culture and Language Centre

Aged Day Care

Centre for Aboriginal

Studies/University

Women’s Refuge and Support/

Counselling

Family Medical Centre and Health Education

Programs

Reconnection

Remnant Native Vegetation

Burial site



7The Draft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural and Environmental Concept plan illustrates the site uses and specific opportunities suggested by the Nyungar representatives during the cultural consultation process.

While some areas overlap with regards to their proposed use, the project study area is broadly defined into the following areas: _A. Culturally Restricted_B. Culture and Learning_C. Building Opportunity_D. Land Management and Eco Tourism_E. Reconnection (related to the former Swan Valley Nyungar Community camp site)

A. Culturally Restricted AreaThroughout the cultural consultation process it was evident that the broader project study area sites including Bennett Brook, Grogan Swamp and the Swan River foreshore were considered significant cultural areas to the Nyungar people.

Although this area is not proposed to be physically restricted (ie. heavily fenced) from the wider community it was

considered that out of respect certain locations could be restricted for cultural use through the absence of notable vehicle or pedestrian access.

In addition the area could undergo rehabilitation by Nyungar people using vegetation endemic to the Bennett Brook area.

Restricted cultural uses may include:_Respected, private ceremonial places to continue site related traditional practices such as men’s and women’s business_An area for cultural learning to be confidentially and orally passed down from elders_Rehabilitation of the Bennett Brook and Grogan Swamp eco-system (i.e. protected and maintained)

01_ Culturally Restricted Area

02_ Ceremonial Practices

03_ Cultural artifacts

02_ 03_

01_

06 Draft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural And Environmental Concept Plan


8 B. Culture and LearningThere was an expressed need for an area of the project site to be set aside for general cultural learning and activities.

Culture and Learning opportunities suggested included:_Shaded and protected Nyungar outdoor teaching, meeting, learning and gathering places where art, culture and language can be shared abd celebrated_Recognising family connections to the site with regard to local cultural and historical significance. This could occur through the use of art, interpretative ‘memory walls’ and/or ‘story trails’_An indigenous plant nursery with land management training and employment opportunities, and possibly providing a supply service to the wider community;_Sporting facilities such as a lawn oval and basketball courts

It was recognised that this area would have a national park sensibility where the broader community could share facilities with the added advantage of learning about the strong local Nyungar culture.

As with a national park, vehicle and pedestrian access would be defined and the site area would undergo rehabilitation with endemic plant species.

06 Draft Bennett Brook Nyungar Cultural And Environmental Concept Plan

01_ Teaching, Meeting, Learning and Gathering Places

02_ Interpretive Memory Wall

03_ Culture and Learning Area

03_02_

01_

draft bennett brook nyungar cultural and environmental concept

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