By Laura Michell
A business case for a $10 million Aboriginal Gathering Place at Quarry Hills Park in Mernda has been given the green light by Whittlesea council – subject to a $5m state government contribution.
The Whittlesea Reconciliation Group has been advocating for an Aboriginal Gathering Group in the municipality for 20 years, with the previous council conducting a feasibility study in 2018.
A report to council’s July 18 meeting said the gathering place will serve as a community hub that promotes the importance of culture in supporting positive health and wellbeing for Aboriginal people.
Activities at the gathering places may include sharing food, performing ceremony, exchanging knowledge, and creating supportive networks to ensure continuity of culture and traditional practices that create culturally safe places, the report said.
The business cases proposes to include multi-purpose spaces, a healing room, consultation rooms, a kitchen, terrace and admin areas at the gathering place.
The Whittlesea Aboriginal Gathering Place Advisory Group will work with council to develop the hub, with council to support the group to become an incorporated Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation and assume operations of the Aboriginal Gathering Place.
Council has submitted an application to the state government for $5m from the Growing Suburbs Fund for the project.
Chair administrator Lydia Wilson said securing state government funding for the project was one of council’s major advocacy initiatives.
Council administrator Peita Duncan said there was no Aboriginal Gathering Place of this scale or scope in the northern metropolitan region.
The council meeting heard that there are 7913 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people in the northern metropolitan region, which includes Whittlesea, Hume, Darebin, Moreland, Banyule and Nillumbik. About 30 per cent (2270 people) call Whittlesea home.
Administrator Chris Eddy said he was “really proud” to be part of a council that is finally going to deliver the project.
“This project was one of the first I heard about when I arrived here last year,” he said.
“I am pretty confident that we will get support for this. It is such an important project for the northern metropolitan area.”
