BY FLAVIA CARABALLO
WOLLONGONG — Residents in the Illawarra region are fighting Wollongong
City Council and the multinational Stockland company over a 428-lot housing
development planned for Sandon Point, Bulli. This piece of land is one
of the few remaining open spaces along the coast and is significant to
the Aboriginal people.
Even though Aboriginal artifacts, skeletal remains and relics have been
found around Sandon Point, stage one of the development was approved by
the Wollongong City Council meeting on March 19. Construction is expected
to begin soon.
Members of the Illawarra Aboriginal community established a tent embassy
on McCauley's Beach at Sandon Point three months ago. A ceremonial fire
was lit to “heal” the area. There is an additional fire constantly burning
to pay tribute to the people who had lived, died and been buried on the
site.
Roy “Dootch” Kennedy, spokesperson for the tent embassy and representative
for the Illawarra Land Council, said that Wollongong council members “are
the best gymnasts in the world”. At one stage, the council requested a
full heritage study only to do “another backflip” two weeks later and approve
development of the first 14 lots. Kennedy and the Aboriginal community
believe building on the site is a direct act of cultural genocide.
Kennedy said there are “senior managers who are well aware of their
roles and responsibilities, yet make public comments such as `We'll worry
about what's down there when we send the bulldozers and backhoes in'”.
Wollongong Lord Mayor George Harrison has even been quoted in the Illawarra
Mercury as saying “So what?”, in response to a question about the historical
significance of the site.
Kennedy said the support for the Aboriginal tent embassy from the local
community has been substantial. “Since we've been there, we've had well
over 1000 people from the community come down to support us.''
There are a minority of people who believe Sandon Point is not a significantly
important area. In an Illawarra Mercury article, Warren Chennel,
a local butcher, said he was pro-development because the site “is just
sitting there, a useless piece of land doing no one any good”.
At a rally on February 17 in Wollongong City Hall, the NSW Greens Lee
Rhiannon lent her support. Rhiannon told the meeting, “In 1999, the ALP
got $974,000 from developers alone ... half of all the corporate donations
they received”.
Sandon Point contains important species and habitat diversity, with
varied habitats stretching from the ocean to the escarpment. The area is
home to regionally rare species like the southern emu wren, the Australian
bittern, three-toed yellow bellied skink, the swamp Rosella and the seringia
arborescens. Another inhabitant is the green and golden bell frog, sooty
oystercatcher and the Latham's Snipe.
An additional concern is potential for flooding. The total catchment
area of 660 hectares empties into a 60-hectare flood plain. Environmentalist
Marcel Van Wijk said there is a need to assess and complete flood studies
before the development goes ahead. Those that have been carried out are
“technically flawed”, Van Wijk said.
Van Wijk forecast that the development project would not stay at 428
lots but would expand to around 1000 lots. Van Wijk estimates that this
mean an extra 15,000 cars will be on the road in the region.
The South Coast Labor Council has vowed to block all stages of the development
until the local community's concerns have been heard and addressed. The
SCLC has requested that NSW Labor government intervene if the developer
or local council attempts to proceed with construction.
