A question that has been percolating in my mind for several years now is: How can architecture in Australia respectfully engage with both Indigenous heritage and post-settlement non-Indigenous heritage? How can we create architecture that responds to multiple stories and histories, however difficult and tricky those relationships might be, and what might this look like?
The First Nations community culture space at 119 Redfern Street is a terrific recent example of how the collision of multiple histories, stories and perspectives can greatly enrich our built environments, if it is embraced. The new facility, which is an addition to and upgrade of the former Redfern Post Office on Gadigal Country in Sydney, is the result of a collaboration between Aileen Sage Architects, Djinjama Indigenous Corporation, heritage architect Jean Rice and architectural historian Noni Boyd.
New South Wales has been a leading force in post-settlement heritage, with champions like Annie Wyatt – who founded the National Trust of Australia in 1945 – raising community awareness about the loss and destruction of built and natural heritage in Sydney. Yet the relationship between Aboriginal heritage and post-settlement non-Indigenous heritage within Australia’s built environments has been a challenge only recently accepted. (From my Aboriginal land; and that “we are all, always on Country,” as Yugambeh/Quandamooka architect Dillon Kombumerri clearly states.1 This marks a profound shift in our understandings of site, place and heritage.
