For more recent posts go to the section: LATEST NEWS
2015
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
25 November 2015
In the last week of November 2015 there were two fantastic developments.
On 20 November 2015 the WALK FOR TIAGARRA event was held. A large group of Aboriginal and non Aboriginal supporters of Tiagarra met at the skatepark and walked up to TIAGARRA together in solidarity for the reopening of TIAGARRA. Many thanks to TasTAFE students for initiating this walk.
See:
17 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3496258/students-join-push-for-tiagarra/
20 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3507981/taking-steps-for-future-of-tiagarra/
and
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3506404/devonport-community-come-out-to-support-tiagarra/
On 22 November 2015: "OWNERSHIP of the Tiagarra building has been passed from the Devonport City Council to the local Aboriginal community after a unanimous vote at the council meeting last night". (7pm, 22 November).
This is a groundbreaking decision demonstrating goodwill, solidarity and support from the Devonport City Council for the local Aboriginal community towards the successful operations and reopening of Tiagarra.
See:
23 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3513076/tiagarra-building-handed-to-aboriginal-community/
and
24 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3515982/one-dollar-to-transfer-tiagarra-ownership/
In the last week of November 2015 there were two fantastic developments.
On 20 November 2015 the WALK FOR TIAGARRA event was held. A large group of Aboriginal and non Aboriginal supporters of Tiagarra met at the skatepark and walked up to TIAGARRA together in solidarity for the reopening of TIAGARRA. Many thanks to TasTAFE students for initiating this walk.
See:
17 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3496258/students-join-push-for-tiagarra/
20 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3507981/taking-steps-for-future-of-tiagarra/
and
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3506404/devonport-community-come-out-to-support-tiagarra/
On 22 November 2015: "OWNERSHIP of the Tiagarra building has been passed from the Devonport City Council to the local Aboriginal community after a unanimous vote at the council meeting last night". (7pm, 22 November).
This is a groundbreaking decision demonstrating goodwill, solidarity and support from the Devonport City Council for the local Aboriginal community towards the successful operations and reopening of Tiagarra.
See:
23 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3513076/tiagarra-building-handed-to-aboriginal-community/
and
24 Nov. 2015:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3515982/one-dollar-to-transfer-tiagarra-ownership/
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
24 November 2015
One dollar to transfer TIAGARRA ownership
Baz Ruddick, The Advocate
One dollar to transfer TIAGARRA ownership
Baz Ruddick, The Advocate
23 November 2015
TIAGARRA MERSEY BLUFF facebook post
TIAGARRA MERSEY BLUFF facebook post
23 November 2015
TIAGARRA building handed to Aboriginal community
Caitlin Jarvis, The Advocate
21 November 2015
Taking steps for future of Tiagarra/Group want to reopen Tiagarra
Caitlin Jarvis, Advocate, p.4
20 Nov. 2015
Devonport community come out to support Tiagarra
Caitlin Jarvis, The Advocate
17 Nov. 2015
Students join push for Tiagarra
Luke Sayer, The Advocate
Students join push for Tiagarra
Luke Sayer, The Advocate
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by TAFE
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by TAFE
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by RIAWUNNA, UTAS
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by RIAWUNNA, UTAS
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by Kaye Gough
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by Kaye Gough
20 November 2015
The WALK TOGETHER FOR TIAGARRA
photos by Peter Sims
2 November 2015
Fresh talks to re-open Tiagarra culture centre
Libby Bingham
The Advocate, Devonport
url: http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3465082/fresh-talks-to-reopen-tiagarra-culture-centre/
2 November 2015
Expanded Aboriginal advisory council to complete World Heritage cultural study
ABC news
url: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-02/expanded-aboriginal-advisory-council-to-complete-world-heritage/6905920
Expanded Aboriginal advisory council to complete World Heritage cultural study
ABC news
url: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-02/expanded-aboriginal-advisory-council-to-complete-world-heritage/6905920
Expanded Aboriginal advisory council to complete World Heritage cultural study
2 November 2015 6:09pm
An expanded interim Aboriginal Heritage Council has been given the task of conducting a major cultural study in the World Heritage Area.
The Government has announced the council will become a permanent body and be expanded from six to 10 members, with members from four more Aboriginal groups.
The council provides advice on protection and management of cultural values.
The Government said it was committed to ensuring Aboriginal people led the ongoing management of their cultural heritage and representation from all community groups was vital.
Chairman Rocky Sainty said the revised council would continue with its roles, as well as overseeing the WHA cultural values study.
In July, the United National's world heritage committee criticised the Tasmanian Government's planned changes for the WHA, saying the cultural value of the area had not been properly surveyed.
Several groups had been lobbying the State Government to carry out the survey, including the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Aboriginal activist Rodney Dillon said the new expanded council was best placed to do it.
"It's in contact with all organisations and all organisations are being invited to be involved and we've never had that before," he said.
"I fear one group doing it probably wouldn't consult with all the groups, so I feel that if you've got all the groups together, it's like a state council.
"It gives a wider range of Aboriginal people in the state to talk to."
"We haven't had this opportunity as local organisations to have a say before, it looks like now in the World Heritage Area, all Aboriginal groups in the state will have a say."
Mr Dillon is chairman of the recently formed Tasmanian Regional Communities Alliance which represents eight Aboriginal groups.
He praised the Government's decision.
"The State Government has talked about re-setting the relationship with all Aboriginal people in the state, I think that's what it's doing," he said.
"It's still going to be hard for whoever does this work - it's not going to be easy work to do - so I think it's important that all Aboriginal organisations do have a say in what goes on."
The four new members of the heritage council will be nominated by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Southeast Tasmanian Aboriginal Council, Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation and melythina tiakana warrana Aboriginal Corporation.
Aboriginal elder, Aunty Patsy, from the melythina tiakana warrana Aboorignal Corporation, also welcomed the announcement.
"It's an amazing outcome and a positive response to the Premier's commitment to re-setting the agenda for more inclusive relationships with Tasmania's Aboriginal people," she said.
"It is the way forward that we work together with all groups and government."
Cultural study branded an attempt to 'curry favour'But Trudy Maluga from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre said the expansion of the council and its investigation were an attempt to control the issues.
"This is a beginning of a tactic for the Government to control an Aboriginal voice, to invite a whole range of organisations in, to curry favour with the Government," she said.
"Asking us to join with those other groups is absolutely laughable.
"If this is the way it's going to be, we'll bypass the Government and we'll go as an independent, and contact the international monitoring committee ourselves and we'll meet with them independently."
Ms Maluga said her centre already had the people on the ground with the necessary expertise.
"This is our heritage, we're the ones to do that assessment, and we're going to have to talk to that international monitoring committee ourselves... without the Government.
"We as an independent would have given the true assessment of what was in that area, not necessarily what the Government wants to hear."
Topics: aboriginal, environmental-management, indigenous-culture, states-and-territories, tas
2 November 2015 6:09pm
An expanded interim Aboriginal Heritage Council has been given the task of conducting a major cultural study in the World Heritage Area.
The Government has announced the council will become a permanent body and be expanded from six to 10 members, with members from four more Aboriginal groups.
The council provides advice on protection and management of cultural values.
The Government said it was committed to ensuring Aboriginal people led the ongoing management of their cultural heritage and representation from all community groups was vital.
Chairman Rocky Sainty said the revised council would continue with its roles, as well as overseeing the WHA cultural values study.
In July, the United National's world heritage committee criticised the Tasmanian Government's planned changes for the WHA, saying the cultural value of the area had not been properly surveyed.
Several groups had been lobbying the State Government to carry out the survey, including the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
Aboriginal activist Rodney Dillon said the new expanded council was best placed to do it.
"It's in contact with all organisations and all organisations are being invited to be involved and we've never had that before," he said.
"I fear one group doing it probably wouldn't consult with all the groups, so I feel that if you've got all the groups together, it's like a state council.
"It gives a wider range of Aboriginal people in the state to talk to."
"We haven't had this opportunity as local organisations to have a say before, it looks like now in the World Heritage Area, all Aboriginal groups in the state will have a say."
Mr Dillon is chairman of the recently formed Tasmanian Regional Communities Alliance which represents eight Aboriginal groups.
He praised the Government's decision.
"The State Government has talked about re-setting the relationship with all Aboriginal people in the state, I think that's what it's doing," he said.
"It's still going to be hard for whoever does this work - it's not going to be easy work to do - so I think it's important that all Aboriginal organisations do have a say in what goes on."
The four new members of the heritage council will be nominated by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, Southeast Tasmanian Aboriginal Council, Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation and melythina tiakana warrana Aboriginal Corporation.
Aboriginal elder, Aunty Patsy, from the melythina tiakana warrana Aboorignal Corporation, also welcomed the announcement.
"It's an amazing outcome and a positive response to the Premier's commitment to re-setting the agenda for more inclusive relationships with Tasmania's Aboriginal people," she said.
"It is the way forward that we work together with all groups and government."
Cultural study branded an attempt to 'curry favour'But Trudy Maluga from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre said the expansion of the council and its investigation were an attempt to control the issues.
"This is a beginning of a tactic for the Government to control an Aboriginal voice, to invite a whole range of organisations in, to curry favour with the Government," she said.
"Asking us to join with those other groups is absolutely laughable.
"If this is the way it's going to be, we'll bypass the Government and we'll go as an independent, and contact the international monitoring committee ourselves and we'll meet with them independently."
Ms Maluga said her centre already had the people on the ground with the necessary expertise.
"This is our heritage, we're the ones to do that assessment, and we're going to have to talk to that international monitoring committee ourselves... without the Government.
"We as an independent would have given the true assessment of what was in that area, not necessarily what the Government wants to hear."
Topics: aboriginal, environmental-management, indigenous-culture, states-and-territories, tas
5 June 2015
Push for Tiagarra plan funds
ADVOCATE
AS RECOGNITION of the value of Aboriginal tourism in Tasmania grows, a debate over the future of Devonport's iconic Tiagarra Aboriginal Tourism and Cultural Centre has dragged on into another year.
Money that could have been used to help devise a viable business plan for Tiagarra was expected to be announced in the state budget and wasn't.
However, a state government spokesman gave hope this week the funds could still be provided.
LANGUISHING: Devonport's Tiagarra Aboriginal Tourism and Cultural Centre closed more than two years ago and there is a push to secure funds to help devise a viable business plan.
"We're in the final stages of negotiations and we look forward to making an announcement soon," the spokesman said.
It is understood an amount of $60,000 was previously granted to Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation for Tiagarra and after the centre was shut the funds were not accessed.
In 2014 SRAC called on all levels of government to pitch in and provide money for a"regionally significant" tourism venture.
SRAC closed the doors more than two years ago because of ongoing operational and financial issues at Tiagarra.
Devonport Deputy Mayor Annette Rockliff was appointed as chairperson of a Tiagarra Special Interest Group announced by the Devonport City Council, which owns the Mersey Bluff building, late last year in order to prepare a report on the future of Tiagarra.
In December Alderman Rockliff said it could amount to the last option there was open to finding a way for Tiagarra to be run as a sustainable operation.
The stakeholder group was expanded to include the broader Aboriginal community to help inform any new business plan for Tiagarra.
Alderman Rockliff said this week the group hoped to receive the grant money that was given to SRAC and not used at the time.
"We've asked the state government to release that money to allow us to employ an independent consultant to work with our special interest group to talk to all the stakeholders around what, if anything, is possible for Tiagarra's future," Alderman Rockliff said.
She said Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff was approached over the matter.
Alderman Rockliff said that on a personal level, if a plan that worked could be developed she would like to see Tiagarra reopen, but she admitted the process so far had been a difficult one.
"It's about 40 years since [Tiagarra] was set up and it's going to need some work and some money spent on the building and the exhibition as both are quite dated now," she said.
Meantime a workshop at the Tasmania Tourism Conference this week in Launceston included a discussion panel led by Greg Lehman, who has worked in advertising, Aboriginal education and World Heritage management.
Mr Lehman spoke about wanting to shift the perception of Aboriginal tourism in Tasmania from something that's difficult to something doable.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3128546/push-for-tiagarra-plan-funds/
Push for Tiagarra plan funds
ADVOCATE
AS RECOGNITION of the value of Aboriginal tourism in Tasmania grows, a debate over the future of Devonport's iconic Tiagarra Aboriginal Tourism and Cultural Centre has dragged on into another year.
Money that could have been used to help devise a viable business plan for Tiagarra was expected to be announced in the state budget and wasn't.
However, a state government spokesman gave hope this week the funds could still be provided.
LANGUISHING: Devonport's Tiagarra Aboriginal Tourism and Cultural Centre closed more than two years ago and there is a push to secure funds to help devise a viable business plan.
"We're in the final stages of negotiations and we look forward to making an announcement soon," the spokesman said.
It is understood an amount of $60,000 was previously granted to Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation for Tiagarra and after the centre was shut the funds were not accessed.
In 2014 SRAC called on all levels of government to pitch in and provide money for a"regionally significant" tourism venture.
SRAC closed the doors more than two years ago because of ongoing operational and financial issues at Tiagarra.
Devonport Deputy Mayor Annette Rockliff was appointed as chairperson of a Tiagarra Special Interest Group announced by the Devonport City Council, which owns the Mersey Bluff building, late last year in order to prepare a report on the future of Tiagarra.
In December Alderman Rockliff said it could amount to the last option there was open to finding a way for Tiagarra to be run as a sustainable operation.
The stakeholder group was expanded to include the broader Aboriginal community to help inform any new business plan for Tiagarra.
Alderman Rockliff said this week the group hoped to receive the grant money that was given to SRAC and not used at the time.
"We've asked the state government to release that money to allow us to employ an independent consultant to work with our special interest group to talk to all the stakeholders around what, if anything, is possible for Tiagarra's future," Alderman Rockliff said.
She said Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff was approached over the matter.
Alderman Rockliff said that on a personal level, if a plan that worked could be developed she would like to see Tiagarra reopen, but she admitted the process so far had been a difficult one.
"It's about 40 years since [Tiagarra] was set up and it's going to need some work and some money spent on the building and the exhibition as both are quite dated now," she said.
Meantime a workshop at the Tasmania Tourism Conference this week in Launceston included a discussion panel led by Greg Lehman, who has worked in advertising, Aboriginal education and World Heritage management.
Mr Lehman spoke about wanting to shift the perception of Aboriginal tourism in Tasmania from something that's difficult to something doable.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/3128546/push-for-tiagarra-plan-funds/
________________________________________________________________________
29 April 2015
Consultants' reports cost a small fortune
Advocate p.14
THE money Devonport ratepayers have forked out over the years for consultants and reports that have gathered dust is a lot more than small change.
It could have built and maintained another bronze statue somewhere or gone to a good use, such as to pay for what's needed to reopen Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum.
Perennially the consultants looked at how to revive the fragmented city and create more drawcards to bring people to Devonport.
How to get passengers disembarking from the Spirit of Tasmania to stay rather than head straight to Launceston and Hobart.
To the Devonport City Council's great credit it has stopped the rot by adopting the Living City Master Plan.
Meaningful work has gone into the Living City Master Plan that will chart the way forward for Devonport. The job-creating project deserves to receive the federal and state funding that it requires.
The Living City plan will correct old wrongs such as fixing the fragmentation of retail areas.
It promotes inner-city housing and acknowledges that it's people enjoying riverside activities and those things that will support an enviable lifestyle that will revive the city's heart.
Mainly it focuses on the Mersey River as Devonport's best asset.
A new idea to create a nightly light and sound show on the Mersey has a lot of merit and should be pursued.
As the new gets ushered in there are also the things that are critical to the Devonport story that should be protected.
Gems like the historic Torquay ferry which used to shuttle passengers from the Eastern side to the Western side for about 160 years until recently.
No new water taxi that is faster or any number of buses can replace the old ferry and how dear it is to Devonport's heart. It should never have been taken off the river and we live in high hope it returns soon.
The popular Harbourside Cafe that opened a few months ago inside an empty piece of waterside history is a good example of what can be achieved without reinventing the wheel.
The newest good idea deserves hearty congratulations to members of the Rotary Club of Devonport North for the visionary plan to build a Mersey Bluff Sea Walk. (NOT ! website author's note ! )
On Monday it received the council's unanimous support to progress to a feasibility study and the club has spoken to the state government about funds for the study.
It is infrastructure done well that can boost tourism and enhance the lifestyle of locals.
Meantime, even with an understanding of how it has happened it still remains a shame that this city has allowed a tourism and cultural jewel like Tiagarra to remain closed for more than two years.
The recent education forum in Burnie raised the issue of Tasmania's Aboriginal history and how it is of immense untapped value to the state.
This Devonport resident not long ago was at Tiagarra site at the Bluff and saw tourists that were disappointed it was closed. Others viewed landmarks outside and craved to see and know more.
Regarding the Bluff sea walk, the Rotary Club has had an initial meeting with the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation about the history of the area.
If the sea walk is taken to project ready stage there are often funding opportunities that tend to come up around election time. The service club used the case study of the Magnetic Island Walkway in North Queensland.
It was built after the community campaigned for federal funds.
Consultants' reports cost a small fortune
Advocate p.14
THE money Devonport ratepayers have forked out over the years for consultants and reports that have gathered dust is a lot more than small change.
It could have built and maintained another bronze statue somewhere or gone to a good use, such as to pay for what's needed to reopen Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum.
Perennially the consultants looked at how to revive the fragmented city and create more drawcards to bring people to Devonport.
How to get passengers disembarking from the Spirit of Tasmania to stay rather than head straight to Launceston and Hobart.
To the Devonport City Council's great credit it has stopped the rot by adopting the Living City Master Plan.
Meaningful work has gone into the Living City Master Plan that will chart the way forward for Devonport. The job-creating project deserves to receive the federal and state funding that it requires.
The Living City plan will correct old wrongs such as fixing the fragmentation of retail areas.
It promotes inner-city housing and acknowledges that it's people enjoying riverside activities and those things that will support an enviable lifestyle that will revive the city's heart.
Mainly it focuses on the Mersey River as Devonport's best asset.
A new idea to create a nightly light and sound show on the Mersey has a lot of merit and should be pursued.
As the new gets ushered in there are also the things that are critical to the Devonport story that should be protected.
Gems like the historic Torquay ferry which used to shuttle passengers from the Eastern side to the Western side for about 160 years until recently.
No new water taxi that is faster or any number of buses can replace the old ferry and how dear it is to Devonport's heart. It should never have been taken off the river and we live in high hope it returns soon.
The popular Harbourside Cafe that opened a few months ago inside an empty piece of waterside history is a good example of what can be achieved without reinventing the wheel.
The newest good idea deserves hearty congratulations to members of the Rotary Club of Devonport North for the visionary plan to build a Mersey Bluff Sea Walk. (NOT ! website author's note ! )
On Monday it received the council's unanimous support to progress to a feasibility study and the club has spoken to the state government about funds for the study.
It is infrastructure done well that can boost tourism and enhance the lifestyle of locals.
Meantime, even with an understanding of how it has happened it still remains a shame that this city has allowed a tourism and cultural jewel like Tiagarra to remain closed for more than two years.
The recent education forum in Burnie raised the issue of Tasmania's Aboriginal history and how it is of immense untapped value to the state.
This Devonport resident not long ago was at Tiagarra site at the Bluff and saw tourists that were disappointed it was closed. Others viewed landmarks outside and craved to see and know more.
Regarding the Bluff sea walk, the Rotary Club has had an initial meeting with the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation about the history of the area.
If the sea walk is taken to project ready stage there are often funding opportunities that tend to come up around election time. The service club used the case study of the Magnetic Island Walkway in North Queensland.
It was built after the community campaigned for federal funds.
28 April 2015
Elevated Bluff sea walkway plan
Advocate
p.3
(HELP ! - no !)
Elevated Bluff sea walkway plan
Advocate
p.3
(HELP ! - no !)
________________________________________________________________________
29 Jan 2015
News
BRIEFLY - Tiagarra roles
Advocate
p.5
THE Devonport City Council is seeking expressions of interest for people considering joining the Tiagarra special interest group and the council's employee assistance program. Expressions of interest for involvement in the Tiagarra group close on February 2 and the program on February 9. For more information or to download the forms, go to www. devonport.tas.gov.au.
29 Jan 2015
News
BRIEFLY - Tiagarra roles
Advocate
p.5
THE Devonport City Council is seeking expressions of interest for people considering joining the Tiagarra special interest group and the council's employee assistance program. Expressions of interest for involvement in the Tiagarra group close on February 2 and the program on February 9. For more information or to download the forms, go to www. devonport.tas.gov.au.
________________________________________________________________________
24 Jan 2015
Where the wild things are
Saturday Magazine
HILARY BURDEN
p.6
My garden is like many old Tasmanian gardens you can see from the road. A mash-up of flowers and old fruit trees, things planted by previous owners that have survived, others brought back from special trips to local nurseries on Brown Mountain and in Springfield, or from Open Garden openings, or online.
There are particular shrubs friends have brought, including a Christmas gift of a potted herb of lemon-and-lime-flowering Lady's Mantle from my mother's neighbour, Peg. She thought it would be well-suited to the Nuns' House garden. There are parts left wild, others where flowers have mysteriously self-seeded and popped up.
So this garden, like most, is nothing really planned. Happened more by luck, gift and fancy than by design. It's only recently that I've realised my pale green thumbs have been influenced mostly by English settler gardening than a sense of what used to grow here before 1803.
Thanks to all kinds of local knowledge (from a course on bush foods with Kris Schaffer, organised by Tamar NRM, to walking on Country with Aboriginal Tasmanians) in recent years, as my roots go deeper, I've learnt more about native plants.
A recent trip to Habitat Nursery, the Tasmanian native plants nursery run by Sally and Herbert Staubmann at Liffey since the early '80s, helped my garden take on a diversity of native varieties that were either fragrant, floral or edible, such as hakea, she-oak (the necklace variety that I thought sounded pretty), kunzea, leatherwood, manuka, native laurel and climbing blueberry. It's still early days but I'm hoping some of them will find their home here.
Not long after it closed last spring, I made a trip to Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture and Art Centre on the Devonport Bluff and was welcomed to Country by Tasmanian Aborigine Paul Docking from the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation, whose lease on the property had just expired. Expressions of interest have since been opened by Devonport City Council to determine what happens to this special place, an incredible step into a pre-settler world. There, on the cliff's edge of Bass Strait, looking back on smart beachside houses that overlook Coles Beach Rd, is an area cared for by descendants of the original inhabitants. Here you can see how the coast may have looked, where ochre is sourced, where women who swam like seals fished off the rocks. You can trace your finger in the sensual grooves of rock carvings made tens of thousands of years ago.
Paul says he learnt much of what he knows as "a dark-skinned boy living on this beach". He says his grandmother told him to avoid the bigots and racists he should "tell them you're Indian".
But Paul is more Tasmanian than I will ever be, pointing out native species I'd never really noticed, and others I knew without knowing their names. "Here, do you recognise this?" he asked, holding a flowering stem gently between his fingers. I told him I couldn't be sure. That it looked like blackberry only the leaves were smaller.
"It's wild raspberry," he smiled.
Craig Williams from Pepper Bush Adventures has a similar eye. The self-styled bushie is a third-generation Scottsdale resident who now runs internationally famed nature tours off the beaten track in the state's North East. Craig says the bush will tell you everything you want to know if you read it. He stops to point out the mountain pepper berry trees and alpine cider gums, which he describes as the source of the first alcoholic drink in Tasmania used by Aborigines.
I have thought about eliminating all the non-native plants and trees in my garden but that felt like genocide the other way. Plus, I like the flowers, bulbs and deciduous colour too much. So I'm going for both: stick with the mash-up while learning more about what new Tasmanians might have ignored when they started clearing land for farms.
Although gardeners and writers are never on holiday - like artists, farmers, owner-operators or possibly parents - I've finally got around to reading a book put aside for reading on these lazy days of extended daylight. The Rambunctious Garden - Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, by Emma Marris, came highly recommended by Ted Lefroy, director of the UTAS Centre for Environment. The Oregon-based author wrestles well the paradox that the only way to have a pristine wilderness is to manage it intensively, something Aborigines learned over millennia, know instinctively, and can teach us if we want them to.
"Nature is almost everywhere," writes Marris. "But wherever it is, there is one thing that nature is not: pristine. In 2011, there is no pristine wilderness on planet Earth. We've been changing the landscapes we inhabit for millennia, and these days our reach is truly global We are already running the whole Earth, whether we admit it or not. To run it consciously and effectively, we must admit our role and even embrace it. We must temper our romantic notion of untrammeled wilderness and find room next to it for the more nuanced notion of a global, half-wild rambunctious garden, tended by us." It's a challenging thought for those of us who think of our Tasmanian wilderness as pristine. But it's also one way of bringing together the opposite drivers of introduced cultivation on the one hand and what's always been there on the other. Not "wild v cultivated" but "half-wild, half-cultivated".
Perhaps this approach might help care for the future of Tiagarra when it's decided. And, perhaps, whilst appreciating the abundance of produce we receive from our backyard fruit trees, we might also, this Australia Day, be inspired to plant a leatherwood or another native tree. Jennifer Stackhouse shares her suggestions on page 27.
Instagram / Twitter @hilaryburden Email hburden@bigpond.com
________________________________________________________________________
Where the wild things are
Saturday Magazine
HILARY BURDEN
p.6
My garden is like many old Tasmanian gardens you can see from the road. A mash-up of flowers and old fruit trees, things planted by previous owners that have survived, others brought back from special trips to local nurseries on Brown Mountain and in Springfield, or from Open Garden openings, or online.
There are particular shrubs friends have brought, including a Christmas gift of a potted herb of lemon-and-lime-flowering Lady's Mantle from my mother's neighbour, Peg. She thought it would be well-suited to the Nuns' House garden. There are parts left wild, others where flowers have mysteriously self-seeded and popped up.
So this garden, like most, is nothing really planned. Happened more by luck, gift and fancy than by design. It's only recently that I've realised my pale green thumbs have been influenced mostly by English settler gardening than a sense of what used to grow here before 1803.
Thanks to all kinds of local knowledge (from a course on bush foods with Kris Schaffer, organised by Tamar NRM, to walking on Country with Aboriginal Tasmanians) in recent years, as my roots go deeper, I've learnt more about native plants.
A recent trip to Habitat Nursery, the Tasmanian native plants nursery run by Sally and Herbert Staubmann at Liffey since the early '80s, helped my garden take on a diversity of native varieties that were either fragrant, floral or edible, such as hakea, she-oak (the necklace variety that I thought sounded pretty), kunzea, leatherwood, manuka, native laurel and climbing blueberry. It's still early days but I'm hoping some of them will find their home here.
Not long after it closed last spring, I made a trip to Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture and Art Centre on the Devonport Bluff and was welcomed to Country by Tasmanian Aborigine Paul Docking from the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation, whose lease on the property had just expired. Expressions of interest have since been opened by Devonport City Council to determine what happens to this special place, an incredible step into a pre-settler world. There, on the cliff's edge of Bass Strait, looking back on smart beachside houses that overlook Coles Beach Rd, is an area cared for by descendants of the original inhabitants. Here you can see how the coast may have looked, where ochre is sourced, where women who swam like seals fished off the rocks. You can trace your finger in the sensual grooves of rock carvings made tens of thousands of years ago.
Paul says he learnt much of what he knows as "a dark-skinned boy living on this beach". He says his grandmother told him to avoid the bigots and racists he should "tell them you're Indian".
But Paul is more Tasmanian than I will ever be, pointing out native species I'd never really noticed, and others I knew without knowing their names. "Here, do you recognise this?" he asked, holding a flowering stem gently between his fingers. I told him I couldn't be sure. That it looked like blackberry only the leaves were smaller.
"It's wild raspberry," he smiled.
Craig Williams from Pepper Bush Adventures has a similar eye. The self-styled bushie is a third-generation Scottsdale resident who now runs internationally famed nature tours off the beaten track in the state's North East. Craig says the bush will tell you everything you want to know if you read it. He stops to point out the mountain pepper berry trees and alpine cider gums, which he describes as the source of the first alcoholic drink in Tasmania used by Aborigines.
I have thought about eliminating all the non-native plants and trees in my garden but that felt like genocide the other way. Plus, I like the flowers, bulbs and deciduous colour too much. So I'm going for both: stick with the mash-up while learning more about what new Tasmanians might have ignored when they started clearing land for farms.
Although gardeners and writers are never on holiday - like artists, farmers, owner-operators or possibly parents - I've finally got around to reading a book put aside for reading on these lazy days of extended daylight. The Rambunctious Garden - Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, by Emma Marris, came highly recommended by Ted Lefroy, director of the UTAS Centre for Environment. The Oregon-based author wrestles well the paradox that the only way to have a pristine wilderness is to manage it intensively, something Aborigines learned over millennia, know instinctively, and can teach us if we want them to.
"Nature is almost everywhere," writes Marris. "But wherever it is, there is one thing that nature is not: pristine. In 2011, there is no pristine wilderness on planet Earth. We've been changing the landscapes we inhabit for millennia, and these days our reach is truly global We are already running the whole Earth, whether we admit it or not. To run it consciously and effectively, we must admit our role and even embrace it. We must temper our romantic notion of untrammeled wilderness and find room next to it for the more nuanced notion of a global, half-wild rambunctious garden, tended by us." It's a challenging thought for those of us who think of our Tasmanian wilderness as pristine. But it's also one way of bringing together the opposite drivers of introduced cultivation on the one hand and what's always been there on the other. Not "wild v cultivated" but "half-wild, half-cultivated".
Perhaps this approach might help care for the future of Tiagarra when it's decided. And, perhaps, whilst appreciating the abundance of produce we receive from our backyard fruit trees, we might also, this Australia Day, be inspired to plant a leatherwood or another native tree. Jennifer Stackhouse shares her suggestions on page 27.
Instagram / Twitter @hilaryburden Email hburden@bigpond.com
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3 Jan 2015
LETTERS
Advocate
p.20
LETTERS
Advocate
p.20
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2014
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27 Dec 2014
TO THE POINT
letters
Advocate p.30
TO THE POINT
letters
Advocate p.30
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27 Dec 2014
TO THE POINT
Advocate p.30
IT IS a pity Tiagarra fell over. It potentially offered broad public access to the Aboriginal story surrounding the Mersey Bluff, and all within walking distance of Devonport.
Education and information can make a world of difference.
One of the reasons Tiagarra failed was because the broad Aboriginal community never embraced it.
Blind to this mistake, the Devonport Council is more interested in now talking to museums and government departments than the Aboriginal community. Nothing good will come of it.
If the council really does want a co-operative effort with Aboriginal people then the Council must make the first move and make contact. I strongly believe the council's overture would be well received.
MICHAEL MANSELL
Launceston
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19 Dec 2014
Special Tiagarra group formed
Advocate
p.9
A SPECIAL interest group for Tiagarra will be formed to prepare a report in relation to the future of one of Devonport's most iconic tourist and cultural attractions.
Due to ongoing operational and financial issues, Tiagarra has been closed to the public for two years with no viable plan in place to reopen it.
After an attempt to use volunteers to keep it open failed, the Devonport City Council ended its Tiagarra lease arrangement with the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation a few months early.
Since then, the Devonport City Council has voted at its recent December meeting to expand the membership of the former Tiagarra working group, to include the broader Aboriginal community.
A report prepared by council community services executive manager Evonne Jones said the new special interest group would determine the future of Tiagarra, its viability and sustainability and the council's level of commitment.
Ms Jones's report said the group could provide a more inclusive and culturally appropriate approach to engaging stakeholders, and would bring in expertise in Aboriginal heritage, education, tourism, arts and cultural matters.
Ms Jones said the new Tiagarra Special Interest Group would look at developing possible networks and partnerships, including with SRAC.
The group will evaluate previous reports and explore alternative delivery models for Tiagarra which are both public and private via an Expression of Interest process.
The group will be rescinded once a report is finalised and presented to the council.
The proposed membership of the Tiagarra Special Interest Group includes SRAC, representatives of the local Aboriginal community, Aboriginal education services, Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Galley, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation.
The council has appointed Deputy Mayor Annette Rockliff to the group as its representative and the likely chairwoman.
"The history of Tiagarra is well-known and this is the next step looking at the future of Tiagarra," Alderman Rockliff said at the council meeting.
Later she said the new Tiagarra Special Interest Group could amount to the last option open to find a way for Tiagarra to be a sustainable operation.
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29 Nov 2014
Wave of ambition
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.34
A former butcher carves out a grand design to further enliven Devonport's foreshore. LIBBY BINGHAM reports.
WHEN former butcher Leigh Murphy rode his bike past a slice of Devonport's maritime history like many locals he thought it had great possibilities for a cafe on the Mersey River foreshore and kept peddling.
The old weatherboard building has become an easy target for vandals and has been empty for some time.
About 18 months ago, after holidaying in Munich where he saw hordes of folk on bicycles it inspired Murphy to come back and lease the landmark heritage-listed harbourmaster building and open that cafe he'd dreamt about on Devonport's popular walking and cycling track.
Murphy also wanted to preserve some rich local history at the same time. "It's important not to lose what we've got because it represents us and Devonport's story," he said.
The Mersey River is what makes the North-West's biggest city different and special from others.
Murphy said he has read in a council-commissioned urban consultant's report that Devonport suffers from not having a clear identity.
It was partly why Devonport struggled to get hundreds of tourists disembarking off the Spirit of Tasmania ferries to come into the city instead of turning left to head south or straight to Cradle Mountain.
"Devonport is a maritime city and we need to enhance that aspect for people to enjoy it and experience it," Murphy said.
"Imagine if tourists came off the Spirits and can park and hop on the (trans-Mersey) Torquay ferry to come over here to a licenced cafe where they can hire bicycles and get a pass and a map directing to attractions such as the Bass Strait Maritime Centre, a redeveloped Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural and Devil Interpretation Centre at the Bluff with live devils and a big devil structure, and the Don River Railway."
Murphy, a Heston Blumenthal doppelganger, sits at an outside picnic table while he talks to 'Scape. The sun is warm on his face and the river and its surrounds are active with everyday life happening.
Dogs of all shaps and sizes are walking their owners, kids fly by on bikes and a woman on rollerskates ambles past.
A painter has been working on covering the graffiti on the harbourmaster building that Murphy has just leased from Crown Land Services. He wants to buy it eventually.
Sadly, the operators of the historic trans-Mersey ferry have dry-docked the iconic little boat because it is no longer commercially viable after a government fare subsidy was removed.
Meanwhile, there is a battle still going on to get this part of Devonport's unique maritime story back on the water.
Some may ask why the beloved ferry was not included in the $250 million Living City master plan that the Devonport City Council endorsed to reshape and reinvigorate the city.
The plan focuses more on the Mersey River.
The good news is the ferry operator has agreed to restart it again for 12 months and the council said it would help maintain the pontoon on the city side but it hinged on whether a local consortium decided to go ahead with plans to buy the pontoon for a rumoured $15,000.
It looks as if the pontoon has a couple of possible buyers looking at it. Murphy (and his silent investors) won't say if he might like to buy the pontoon.
He said he supported the Living City plan for what it wanted to achieve but he was not a big fan of all the ideas contained in the plan.
"In some ways, it feels like they are trying to create something that we haven't got and I don't know that building a hotel and a (circular walkway over the Mersey River) to go nowhere is the answer for Devonport," Murphy said.
"I think the Living City plan is more focused on bringing retail into Devonport.
"Part of the problem in Devonport is that we don't understand what we've got here and we should enhance what we've got.
"I think we have got something iconic the tourists want.
"It's right behind us and it's 25 kilometres long and easily accessible and it's a pathway leading to somewhere - which are some other experiences in Devonport.
"Where else in Australia can you disembark from a big ferry to catch a little ferry into the city and for less than $100 you might get six hours' entertainment? And if you want to, you can end back here and catch the ferry out again."
Murphy has planning approval and hopes to open his new cafe in January. "We don't want to wait - we want to be the start of the Living City plan," he said.
"People can come here and see how Devonport used to look while they enjoy Devonport today."
MURPHY'S Harbourmaster Cafe will serve wine and produce from the region and showcase old photographs depicting Devonport's waterfront.
It will have an area set aside for old fashioned games like hop scotch and quoits and fishing rods available to use.
A bit later the plan includes a pop-up fish and chippery on a boardwalk built as a stationary wooden boat structure over the river. Because of limited space inside the cafe, Murphy said he would bring a mobile commercial kitchen on-site to cater to special events.
He grins and says, "Try to imagine fire pots and Fijian fire dancers as the first thing that passengers on the Spirit ferries might see when they dock.
"We want to offer a first focus point into Devonport."
The story of Devonport's oldest public building has been told in newspaper clippings.
The harbourmaster building has survived many years of neglect and there have been several campaigns to save it.
"That's why I want to preserve it for good," Murphy says.
Built in 1882, the small timber building was the administration centre of the first marine authority in the district, set up under the Marine Act of 1867, known then as the Mersey Marine Board.
The Town Board, a forerunner of the present city council, met in the Marine Board building before the Town Hall was built.
"Not many people know the decision to join Torquay and Formby to form Devonport was made at a meeting in that building," Murphy said. At one stage, the building was almost burned down after vandals set it alight.
In 1984, a new plan was devised to make the building a centrepoint of a Pioneer Mariners' Park.
That project cost $30,000 and included restoration of the building, the regraded park and stone wall and new flagpoles.
In 2001, the building was listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register.
Murphy said the Heritage Council had no issues with his cafe plans, which retained the historic facade.
Murphy and two silent investors are developing the foreshore cafe and fish and chip shop, and he has spoken to Devonport Deputy Mayor Annette Rockliff, as chairwoman of the Tiagarra working group, about a multi-million-dollar redevelopment proposal with his three investors to transform Tiagarra into an Aboriginal cultural experience and live devil park.
Murphy is working as a self-employed sub-contractor as he juggles his development ambitions.
His past jobs have been many and varied. "I call myself a journeyman," he says.
After he completed his apprenticeship as a butcher he worked at Ashley Detention Centre as a youth worker.
He was an industrial organiser with the Community and Public Sector Union and at another stage was worked in human resources at a hospital and was a self-employed timber floor installer and sander.
The aspiring entrepreneur is married with two young sons.
"I want to keep my family in Devonport and this is how I want to do it by creating something that brings families together and everyone can enjoy," he said.
"Don't limit yourself by what you think you can't do."
Devonport Mayor Steve Martin said Murphy's ideas showed merit.
He said the council encouraged and welcomed people with ideas to present them.
Caption: Leigh Murphy wants to provide the first focus point for passengers docking in Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania ferries. Developer Leigh Murphy's plans for the ex-harbourmaster building are only part of his ideas to help revitalise Devonport. An aerial view of the wharf in 1968. RIGHT: HMS Pyramis in 1911, calling into Devonport. Architecture student Declan Vertigan with his model of the revitalised ex-harbourmaster building on the banks of the Mersey. Ganynede, the tall ship in the Mersey River. All the historic pictures will be displayed in the new cafe. LEFT: The harbourmaster building has been vandalised many times over the years. It is now pristine. The cafe is on track to open in January, says co-owner Leigh Murphy.
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20 Nov 2014
Harbouring a vision
ADVOCATE
DEVELOPMENT plans have been lodged to transform Devonport's oldest public building from a venue that attracts graffiti vandals into a licensed cafe and tourist destination.
Murphy Investment Tas. Pty Ltd, has submitted plans to the Devonport City Council for the refurbishment and extension as a cafe of the old harbour master's building on the Mersey River foreshore.
The proposed development would be in keeping with the site's heritage listing.
At the moment the well-known building has become an easy target for vandals to graffiti and do other damage.
However, first-time developer Leigh Murphy, of Devonport, and two unnamed investors want to open a cafe in the front half of the compact building.
Mr Murphy said after planning approvals and the lease have been finalised it should be open in seven months.
The back half of the building would be used to showcase historic images of old Devonport precincts.
"Tourists could see how Devonport used to look," Mr Murphy said.
Mr Murphy said he used to ride past the neglected building on his mountain bike and always contemplated its potential.
"I used to think, gee whiz, that would make a lovely cafe," he said.
About 16 months ago he started working with architecture student Declan Vertigan on a three-stage vision.
It also includes a $3 million plan to reopen Tiagarra under a new concept.
Mr Murphy said he submitted the cafe proposal with Crown Land Services as the building's owners.
He said the Heritage Council of Tasmania reported it had no issues with his plans.
"What I want to create is a destination and an experience, not just a cafe," Mr Murphy said.
He said it would get the council's Living City plan started.
He wants to have bicycles for hire, where travellers on the Spirit of Tasmania could catch the trans-Mersey ferry across, hire a bike and get a pass with a map directing to the Bass Strait Maritime Centre, Tiagarra and Don River Railway.
An area outside the cafe would be created for kids to play old-fashioned games like hopscotch and quoits.
"We'll have a few fishing rods to use."
Stage two of the plan involves building a replica of the harbour master building on the southern end as a fish and chip shop.
Mr Murphy was meeting with the council this week about leasing a grassed area near the old ferry pontoon to create a boardwalk.
"We want to build half a wooden boat structure that goes out three metres and comes back in under the wall," he said.
"People can sit on the river on a stationary vessel."
Mr Murphy said he was still finalising a 15-year-lease on the building with Crown Land Services.
Mr Vertigan said he jumped at the opportunity to work with Mr Murphy on the high profile project because of its position.
"It's a brilliant idea," Mr Vertigan said.
Mr Murphy said stage three involved an ambitious $3 million redevelopment proposal to turn the closed Tiagarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Museum at the Bluff into the Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural and Devil Interpretation Centre.
Mr Murphy said it includes live Tasmanian devils and building a 9-metre high devil structure off the eastern side of the Bluff costing an estimated $1.5 million.
Mr Murphy said he already had investors on board.
Harbouring a vision
ADVOCATE
DEVELOPMENT plans have been lodged to transform Devonport's oldest public building from a venue that attracts graffiti vandals into a licensed cafe and tourist destination.
Murphy Investment Tas. Pty Ltd, has submitted plans to the Devonport City Council for the refurbishment and extension as a cafe of the old harbour master's building on the Mersey River foreshore.
The proposed development would be in keeping with the site's heritage listing.
At the moment the well-known building has become an easy target for vandals to graffiti and do other damage.
However, first-time developer Leigh Murphy, of Devonport, and two unnamed investors want to open a cafe in the front half of the compact building.
Mr Murphy said after planning approvals and the lease have been finalised it should be open in seven months.
The back half of the building would be used to showcase historic images of old Devonport precincts.
"Tourists could see how Devonport used to look," Mr Murphy said.
Mr Murphy said he used to ride past the neglected building on his mountain bike and always contemplated its potential.
"I used to think, gee whiz, that would make a lovely cafe," he said.
About 16 months ago he started working with architecture student Declan Vertigan on a three-stage vision.
It also includes a $3 million plan to reopen Tiagarra under a new concept.
Mr Murphy said he submitted the cafe proposal with Crown Land Services as the building's owners.
He said the Heritage Council of Tasmania reported it had no issues with his plans.
"What I want to create is a destination and an experience, not just a cafe," Mr Murphy said.
He said it would get the council's Living City plan started.
He wants to have bicycles for hire, where travellers on the Spirit of Tasmania could catch the trans-Mersey ferry across, hire a bike and get a pass with a map directing to the Bass Strait Maritime Centre, Tiagarra and Don River Railway.
An area outside the cafe would be created for kids to play old-fashioned games like hopscotch and quoits.
"We'll have a few fishing rods to use."
Stage two of the plan involves building a replica of the harbour master building on the southern end as a fish and chip shop.
Mr Murphy was meeting with the council this week about leasing a grassed area near the old ferry pontoon to create a boardwalk.
"We want to build half a wooden boat structure that goes out three metres and comes back in under the wall," he said.
"People can sit on the river on a stationary vessel."
Mr Murphy said he was still finalising a 15-year-lease on the building with Crown Land Services.
Mr Vertigan said he jumped at the opportunity to work with Mr Murphy on the high profile project because of its position.
"It's a brilliant idea," Mr Vertigan said.
Mr Murphy said stage three involved an ambitious $3 million redevelopment proposal to turn the closed Tiagarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Museum at the Bluff into the Tasmanian Aboriginal Cultural and Devil Interpretation Centre.
Mr Murphy said it includes live Tasmanian devils and building a 9-metre high devil structure off the eastern side of the Bluff costing an estimated $1.5 million.
Mr Murphy said he already had investors on board.
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24 Oct 2014
Other councils urged to pitch in on Tiagarra
Advocate
CAITLIN HEATHCOTE
p.5
Other councils urged to pitch in on Tiagarra
Advocate
CAITLIN HEATHCOTE
p.5
24 Oct 2014
Other councils urged to pitch in on Tiagarra
Advocate
CAITLIN HEATHCOTE
p.5
FORMER Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum leaseholder Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation has called on all levels of government, including other councils, to pitch in and provide funding for a "regionally significant" tourism venture after it was stripped of its lease by the Devonport City Council.
SRAC lost its lease to operate Tiagarra following the council's decision on Monday night.
The council decided to terminate Six Rivers' lease of Tiagarra ahead of the official review next year after citing the company "had failed in its role" to operate the centre as a viable tourism venture.
SRAC president Paul Docking said Tiagarra should remain in Tasmanian Aboriginal hands, as it was important for it as a tourism venture going forward, but it could be up to a larger corporation group of stakeholders.
"When people come to Tiagarra they want to talk to the local people and hear their stories," Mr Docking said.
"Tiagarra is a regional asset; we were quite happy to hand over the lease to a larger group."
He said despite losing the lease, SRAC was hopeful of remaining involved with the centre and had worked on a revitalisation plan already.
"We do have another plan; we have the funds locked up but it's up to the community if they want this," he said.
Mr Docking declined to divulge any information on that plan for the centre, saying it was "up to the community to know first" before he went public.
The council has started a report and consultation process that will engage all stakeholders and other interested parties in developing a new restructure process and management structure.
SRAC has indicated it would be interested in remaining involved with that process.
Tiagarra will be closed indefinitely until that restructure is complete, but it's unknown when that will be.
Caption: CLOSED: The embattled Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum in Devonport. Picture: Jason Hollister.
24 Oct 2014
Letters
Advocate p.24
ONE top Devonport attraction remains closed and the future of another is in doubt.
For a city and a region which need all their attractions firing, it is not good enough.
The Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre has effectively been closed since 2012, and a reopening is not yet in sight.
The Devonport City Council was correct to end the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation's lease of the site. The site is too important to sit idle.
Coupled with the rock carvings at the Bluff, it can provide a fascinating couple of hours for visitors.
The eventual reopening will need Aboriginal involvement, but the council should not shy away from a mainstream private sector model with indigenous employees if that looks the best solution.
The future of the Imaginarium science centre seems more complex. Pandemonium wants more council funds to help run the Imaginarium. The council said no.
Any or all of the following - the Commonwealth, the tertiary education sector and forward-thinking private enterprise would be logical fits to get involved.
- SEAN FORD
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23 Oct 2013
Council decides to close TIAGARRA
Advocate
p.3
"Effective immediately, Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre will be closed indefinitely until a new operator and management structure model can be found and enacted."
Council decides to close TIAGARRA
Advocate
p.3
"Effective immediately, Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre will be closed indefinitely until a new operator and management structure model can be found and enacted."
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21 Oct 2014
Devonport City Council
MEDIA RELEASE
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18 Oct 2014
News
Advocate p.10
A DEVONPORT man seeking to open a cafe in a heritage-listed building on the Mersey foreshore says that restoring the trans-Mersey ferry service would aid his plans.
Leigh Murphy has applied for a cafe liquor licence for the eatery that he wants to open in the old harbour master's office.
Mr Murphy said a development application was lodged and approved by the Devonport City Council and the Heritage Council of Tasmania.
Mr Murphy said as well as the cafe, his future plans would include a 50-bike cycle rack on the foreshore, for people to visit places of interest like the Bass Strait Maritime Museum, Tiagarra and Don River Railway.
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6 Oct 2014
Letters
Advocate p.17
IT'S not just some politicians who want the burqa banned, Roger Morris - the majority of Australians, as stated in newspapers after a poll, want the burqa banned. It has no place in Australia along with some of their personal beliefs. John Hudson, Spreyton.
There's already been enough taxpayers' money wasted on the mall and Tiagarra, Robbie Renalson. Leave the mall alone and close Tiagarra. Let's save money, not waste it.
John Hudson, Spreyton.
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29 Sept 2014
Letters
Advocate
p.17
Painting mall poles
An idea, re the repainting of the poles in Devonport's mall. Invite some indigenous artists to apply their skills and do some incredible work on these poles, a link could be done to encourage people to visit Tiagarra.
We have fine artists the likes of Wayne Edwards and Bill Flowers, maybe they could be encouraged to apply their brilliance to some of these poles.
We could do a "where's Wally" theme or paint a pole so everyone could measure their height. Perhaps some talented kids could make their mark on a pole or two.
It's a novel concept which would gain positive comments by locals and visitors. There's so many ideas and opportunities going begging. All it needs is some vision and imagination to really make this mall a showpiece. If not then re-open it to vehicles once again.
ROBBIE RENALSON
Devonport
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27 Sept 2014
Report card
Advocate p.2
DEVONPORT
Finances: Has adopted a break-even operating budget (based on way over the top rates levels). Its borrowings are very manageable, but it would do well to slash them in coming years. Tightening up on staffing costs. More efficiencies needed.
Rating: 6/10.
Rates: Devonport's rates remain appallingly high, but the council took a very positive step this year and did not raise rates at all. Rating: 5/10.
Community projects: The $250 million Living City Project master plan has been adopted. The council has generated a feeling of what many say is unprecedented excitement around a project, which is well-deserved. Past councils failed with five similar plans past paying out the money to have them done and then seeing them shelved and allowed to gather dust. The real work starts now on Living City, which is to implement the plan properly. The council has made big promises about a national retailer in the CBD and should secure that ASAP along with the private investment needed for Living City. The council must retain the unique character of Devonport as Living City goes ahead or risk an expensive white elephant.
Again, the Devonport Jazz Festival was a hit for the council. Rating: 8/10.
Development: Devonport's $14 million Splash Aquatic Centre opened in January. A major achievement and the facility is well-used. The council upset some East Devonport residents supporting the old Tascot carpet factory being returned to an industrial site for a spud factory. Meantime East's Costa berry development has been good for jobs. Spreyton and Don areas have had some residential growth with more retail at Spreyton to support an increase in population. Council funding for Renew Devonport has been received as a positive move but fixing parking in the city is still in the pipeline.
Rating: 8/10
Advocacy: The council seemed to be pretty half-hearted in efforts to keep the historic trans-Mersey Torquay ferry. It goes against the Living City plan's aim to focus more on the Mersey River to allow the little ferry to be axed. The ferry has been an important part of the history and character of Devonport. There is work still going on behind the scenes to bring the unique ferry back and council should make this happen.
A plan is in place for Tiagarra to reopen in time for the tourist season by using volunteer labour but this matter was allowed to drag on for far too long. A significant tourist attraction and asset should not have been shut over two peak tourist seasons.
Rating : 4/10.
Teamwork: There were great examples like Living City where elected members worked as a team to support it but overall it remains a divided council. In truth, with all the thorough Living City planning and research done by council deputy general manager Matthew Atkins and the community taskforce that sold Living City in the community, it meant all the aldermen had to do was not get in the way. Hostilities between the mayor and some aldermen have continued to flare up at the council table at times.
Rating: 5/10. Overall: 6/10
BURNIE
Finances: Moving to exit areas where it should not be involved, particularly childcare, and simplifying council operations are positives. Notched a $2.63 million underlying operating deficit for 2013-14 and expects a $635,000 deficit in 2014-15, despite grossly over-charging on rates. Major efficiency gains needed.
Rating: 3/10.
Community projects: The controversial and fiddly UTAS land deal continues to concern many in the community. The council refrained from splurging ratepayers' cash on major new assets, cutting its cloth to suit the times. The pool redevelopment is the big item on the horizon and much of that will be paid by other levels of government.
Rating: 6/10.
Development: Challenging economic times are not the council's doing. It is doing a decent job on economic development and working to build community capacity. A major retail shake-out is continuing, as evidenced by the many empty shops in the CBD. Mine closures will not help. The Bunnings development is the major recent positive.
Rating: 6.5/10.
Rates: Remain much too high. Kept general rate increase to 1 per cent, but slugged ratepayers by more than the inflation rate anyway due to hiking waste management charges.
Rating: 2/10.
Advocacy: The council has been solid in this area, standing up for its community and the wider region and raising pertinent issues with the bigger levels of government. For the third biggest council on population in the region, it punches above its weight.
Rating: 8/10.
Teamwork: Every alderman does not love and adore every other alderman, but the council has held together remarkably well on politically dangerous decisions, such as the Makers' Workshop deal and potentially selling its childcare centres.
Rating: 8/10
Overall: 5.6/10.
WEST COAST
Finances: In a word, tight. The council notched a $1.48 million operating deficit for 2013-14 and has budgeted for a further deficit of $580,000 this financial year. It has run soundly for quite a few years and will need to be disciplined in coming years.
Rating: 4.5/10.
Community projects: The council has done a superb job here, largely in response to the ongoing production halt at Mount Lyell (which is now permanent). It used its own and state government funds to provide work for miners while making improvements around the towns.
Rating: 9/10.
Development: Fish farm expansion has been the big positive, while tourism is well placed to pick up strongly. A resumption of mining at Avebury would be a huge result for the West, with some hope for two other new projects near Zeehan. Closure of Mount Lyell hurt and the looming closure of Henty will be nearly as big a blow.
Rating: 4/10.
Rates: Not cheap, but not noticeably over-expensive, given the small rates base funding services at five main towns. Increased rates by less than the inflation rate.
Rating: 7.5/10.
Advocacy: Has done a sound job in this area, despite the September 2013 death of mayor Darryl Gerrity, who was the king of local advocacy. His wife, Robyn, succeeded him as Mayor. She has done well in pushing the West's interests in a difficult time for the mining sector.
Rating: 8/10.
Teamwork: Appears to have gone backwards in recent months, which is the last thing the West Coast needs right now. Rating: 5/10.
Overall: 6.3/10.
KING ISLAND
Finances: A different animal, given its tiny population and rates base. Expecting a $128,000 operating deficit in 2014-15, which would be a 23 per cent improvement. Has found efficiencies and savings, but will need to find more, or hit up ratepayers and/or governments. Losing general manager Mark Goode will not help.
Rating: 5/10.
Community projects: Has a relatively big $3.1 million capital works budget for 2014-15, with highlights including an airport terminal upgrade, road sealing and a Naracoopa jetty upgrade.
Rating: 8/10.
Development: Much depends on whether the big wind farm proposal and tungsten mining go ahead. These are out of the council's hands.
Rating: 5/10.
Rates: Increased rates and waste collection charges by a reasonable 2.5 per cent, while freezing some fees and charges and cutting others. Charges very low rates by regional standards.
Rating: 8/10.
Advocacy: Appropriate sea and air links, plus freight costs and economic development are the key issues. The council has done a decent job in this area, but significant economic development results are needed.
Rating: 6/10.
Teamwork: We have no reliable knowledge on this measure. Rating: 5/10.
Overall: 6.2/10.
LATROBE
Community projects: Undeniably the biggest goal kicked for Latrobe Council in terms of community projects would have to be the Baldock Memorial statue and gates at the Latrobe Recreation Ground. The community and the region came together to honour one of the greatest footballers to come out of Latrobe and Tasmania. Latrobe Council has also hit a few other nails on the head in the community this year with the construction of the Port Sorell Performing Arts Centre and the Latrobe Mens Shed.
Rating: 9/10
Development: Development has been another area that Latrobe has grown in substantially over the past financial year. Developments in the Shearwater and Port Sorell area seem to know no bounds. Ghost Rock Vineyard has been approved to build its new winery and interpretation centre that will house former MasterChef contestant Ben Milbourne's new cooking school. In addition a brand new Woolworths supermarket was built in Alexander Street Port Sorell along with a BWS bottleshop.
Rating: 9/10
Finances: Frankly, magnificent on just about every meaningful measure. Strong financial position without ripping off ratepayers. A benchmark council. Could do more on asset renewal and replacements.
Rating: 9/10.
Advocacy: Always a solid performer in terms of reaching forward for its community, the Latrobe Council has always been in favour of development and tourism in its region. Has established itself as a "historic town" which gives it a popular albeit small edge in terms of retail compared to its much bigger neighbours. Tourism, retail and events are strong industries for the region.
Rating: 8/10
Rates: Has budgeted for general rates income to grow by 4.1 per cent this financial year, which is a touch too high even with 1 per cent of that coming from newly rateable properties. Remains cheap by regional standards, helped by strong growth in the ratepayer base, but needs to maintain its discipline to keep that sound competitive advantage compared to most other councils.
Rating: 7/10.
Teamwork: Latrobe Council usually does pretty well working as a team. Structurally they are pretty sound and everyone voices their
opinions in a safe environment. It's a tight ship that is run effectively by Mayor Mike Gaffney, who is finishing up as mayor after government changes meant he was unable to have two roles as both Mersey MLC and Latrobe Mayor.
Rating: 9/10
OVERALL RATING: 8.5/10
Contributed to by SEAN FORD (Burnie, King Island, West Coast and all rates and finances ratings), LIBBY BINGHAM (Devonport), ADAM LANGENBERG (Central Coast), ARYELLE SARGENT (Circular Head and Waratah-Wynyard), CAITLIN HEATHCOTE (Latrobe) and DOUG DINGWALL (Kentish)
Ratings for the region's other four councils, plus a ratings "ladder", will appear in Monday's edition.
Caption: TOP SPOT: A major achievement has been Devonport's $14 million Splash Aquatic Centre, which opened in January. The facility is popular and well-used. Picture: Katrina Docking. COMMUNITY PLUS: Darrel Baldock is honoured at the unveiling of the Baldock Memorial at the Latrobe Recreation Ground. The memorial is one of the council's greatest achievements of 2014. Picture: Jason Hollister. Closure of Mount Lyell hurt the West Coast. Picture: Grant Wells.
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26 Sept 2014
Candidate reveals grand ideas for Devonport
Advocate
p.4
FIRST-TIME Devonport mayoral candidate Kyron Howell says he has an "unshakeable belief" in the future of Devonport. He said he was presenting himself for election as what he called a "new and true" breed of politician.
"I wish to serve my community with my only goal being the betterment of my city for all of its citizens," Mr Howell said. He is standing as an alderman and mayor in the October poll.
Mr Howell, a musician and Japan expert, ran at the state election as a Liberal candidate.
Yesterday he quoted a former Labor prime minister on leadership. "Paul Keating noted that: 'the job of the leader is to nourish the government with ideas. You run the debate, you set the framework and push on'," Mr Howell said.
"Times are tough right now because our leaders have let us down; they have not planned well for the future and they haven't been able to provide the essential framework that leads to growth in the key areas of employment and education.
"I have an extensive list of ideas to make our city the cultural gateway to Tasmania that it deserves to be; a business incubator project, a fully fledged university campus [in Devonport], a grand statement in place of the shoebox design currently proposed for the Living City project, incorporating a five star hotel-casino and world-class art gallery and museum, a 'virtual retail environment' to lead the world in new and innovative ways to shop."
Mr Howell said the Don River Railway should be extended initially to Roundhouse Park.
He said the "artists walk" presented in the Living City master plan was "non-functional, ugly and expensive".
"Rather than making a 'loop to nowhere' the first thing that catches the eyes of visitors to our city, the building behind it should be the shining gem that says: 'welcome to Devonport, the city that has one eye on its heritage and the other firmly locked on the future'."
Mr Howell said the Harris Scarfe site had amazing potential and should not be held back by what he said was the "unimaginative and generic designs on offer".
Mr Howell would like to see Tiagarra relocated and Devonport Jazz reinvigorated by adding a "jazz train" to the event, running the steam trains between Burnie and Devonport, ferrying patrons to venues with food and live music on board.
Mr Howell said by installing sculptures along Victoria Parade to the Bluff, Devonport could hold an event like "Sculptures by the Sea" in Sydney as a drawcard.
Mr Howell said Devonport could present an international artist exchange and residency program culminating in a large event, with artists visiting.
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28 Aug 2014
Volunteers to bring new life to TIAGARRA
Advocate
Libby Bingham
p.2
Volunteers to bring new life to TIAGARRA
Advocate
Libby Bingham
p.2
28 Aug 2014
Volunteers to bring new life to Tiagarra
ADVOCATE
Libby Bingham
p.2
PARTNERSHIP: Devonport City Council community services executive manager Evonne Ewins and taskforce chairwoman Alderman Annette Rockliff at the Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre. Picture: Jason Hollister.
AFTER it was closed for two tourist seasons the Tiagarra Museum and Culture Centre will reopen at the Bluff next month.
It is reopening for three days a week using volunteer staff.
A new business model and funding to redevelop the iconic venue is yet to be determined.
The Devonport City Council discussed Tiagarra's future behind closed doors as part of the confidential items at Monday night's council meeting and has agreed to continue its support of the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation lease until 2015 when it will be reviewed again.
Devonport City Council's executive manager of community services Evonne Ewins said the council has committed to work closely with the SRAC on the potential redevelopment of Tiagarra.
"This will be spelled out in a partnership agreement which will help us to understand the level of support required to assist with the operations of the facility," Mrs Ewins said.
"Given it is going to be a volunteer-based model, we need to ensure that there are structures for the management of volunteers in place.
"The risk management is done and business elements and that's where the council can assist and support those operations."
Mrs Ewins said the successful redevelopment of the Bass Strait Maritime Centre has given the council some good experience of how to redevelop a cultural centre and museum.
"This is a great opportunity to look at how we can best support Tiagarra in the redevelopment of its exhibitions which are outdated and require updating.
"I think there are a range of funding avenues that we can target as well.
"Whether that's funding through employment incentives, Aboriginal cultural programs, youth programs or regional funding.
"I understand people at SRAC with success and experience in this are writing some grant applications as we speak."
Mrs Ewins said the old Tiagarra business model would be revisited again as part of the process of pulling together a new and more sustainable business model.
"The idea is that we will take baby steps," she said.
"Tiagarra is a tourism asset but is equally important for the educational and cultural awareness this kind of facility and its community brings," Mrs Ewins said.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/2519443/volunteers-to-bring-new-life-to-tiagarra/
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23 Aug 2014
Tiagarra on council agenda
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.14
Tiagarra on council agenda
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.14
23 Aug 2014
Tiagarra on council agenda
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.14
THE future of the Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre at Mersey Bluff is being decided behind closed doors at Monday night's Devonport City Council meeting.
The council will consider its future commitment to Tiagarra and whether to reopen the tourist attraction for three days a week on a volunteer basis.
Devonport City Council community services executive manager Evonne Ewins, said the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation wanted to reopen the doors with volunteers before the next tourist season.
Mrs Ewins said the matter was being discussed behind closed doors because it involved a contractual arrangement.
SRAC board member Paul Docking told The Advocate several weeks ago that he'd hoped the centre would attract enough volunteers to open the doors again in September.
The SRAC has met the council to see what support it would provide with the day-to-day operation of Tiagarra.
More than 18 months ago, the SRAC said Tiagarra was not sustainable under the old business model and the doors were closed except to phone bookings.
A stakeholder committee was formed to determine the interest there was in developing a sustainable business model for Tiagarra.
"The SRAC are committed to reopening Tiagarra and the council will consider a proposed new model and its ongoing commitment to Tiagarra on Monday night," Mrs Ewins said.
"The SRAC wants to open up the facility again to the public and work closely with council to look at further exhibitions and how it could be redeveloped in consultation with the Aboriginal and community stakeholders.
"The SRAC would continue leasing the facility and be responsible for the operation and the committee would provide direction and guidance.
"If the council agrees it would be a transitional approach to taking those small steps and establishing what needs to be done." The building is owned by the council which maintains it.
________________________________________________________________________
Tiagarra on council agenda
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.14
THE future of the Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre at Mersey Bluff is being decided behind closed doors at Monday night's Devonport City Council meeting.
The council will consider its future commitment to Tiagarra and whether to reopen the tourist attraction for three days a week on a volunteer basis.
Devonport City Council community services executive manager Evonne Ewins, said the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation wanted to reopen the doors with volunteers before the next tourist season.
Mrs Ewins said the matter was being discussed behind closed doors because it involved a contractual arrangement.
SRAC board member Paul Docking told The Advocate several weeks ago that he'd hoped the centre would attract enough volunteers to open the doors again in September.
The SRAC has met the council to see what support it would provide with the day-to-day operation of Tiagarra.
More than 18 months ago, the SRAC said Tiagarra was not sustainable under the old business model and the doors were closed except to phone bookings.
A stakeholder committee was formed to determine the interest there was in developing a sustainable business model for Tiagarra.
"The SRAC are committed to reopening Tiagarra and the council will consider a proposed new model and its ongoing commitment to Tiagarra on Monday night," Mrs Ewins said.
"The SRAC wants to open up the facility again to the public and work closely with council to look at further exhibitions and how it could be redeveloped in consultation with the Aboriginal and community stakeholders.
"The SRAC would continue leasing the facility and be responsible for the operation and the committee would provide direction and guidance.
"If the council agrees it would be a transitional approach to taking those small steps and establishing what needs to be done." The building is owned by the council which maintains it.
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8 July 2014
Letters to the Editor
The Mercury
Letters to the Editor
The Mercury
John R.Wilson of Daisy Dell Posted at 9:49 AM July 08, 2014
I've always looked forward to NAIDOC Week for one reason or another: Indigenous films on SBS, community dances, dinners and picnics, visits to
special places. But at the same time as we celebrate the survival of our Indigenous people and their continuing culture here in Tasmania, I am also mindful of the opportunities that are being lost to us. Opportunities to help the disparate Tasmanian Aboriginal communities get together to make peace with one other, for example, and then to help them extend the hands of friendship to so-called "outsiders" and to other Indigenous people from other lands. In 2010, the Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal Museum and Cultural Centre at Mersey Bluff in Devonport was used to welcome a traditional Ainu delegation from Japan. It was a warm and inclusive inspirational ceremony held at a magnificent location where there are over 200 ancient rock engravings, presided over by local Aboriginal elders, and joined by the Mayor of Devonport and other important guests. But now, Tiagarra looks closed and abandoned. I feel very sad about it. Next year, the lease for this centre expires. What will happen to it ...
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-firstclass-experience/story-fnj4f64i-1226980890429
29 June 2014
Aboriginal heritage role agreed at Woolnorth
Advocate
Aryelle Sargent
p.8
Aboriginal heritage role agreed at Woolnorth
Advocate
Aryelle Sargent
p.8
28 June 2014
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27 June 2014
Tiagarra museum may reopen doors
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
DEVONPORT tourist attraction Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre could reopen at least a few days a week in September.
Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation is calling for more volunteers to help at the centre and wants feedback from the community on what it is that people would like to see happen at the financially-embattled Tiagarra.
SRAC board member Paul Docking hopes the centre has enough volunteers to finally open the doors again in September, well before summer and the next tourist season.
An open day is being held at Tiagarra on July 12 as part of NAIDOC Week.
"We want as many volunteers as we can get - both indigenous and non indigenous people," Mr Docking said.
"We already have some volunteers offering to help at Tiagarra and we need more.
"We have a lot of our artefacts that have been donated over the years and they're still sitting in their boxes with their cabinets sitting here empty.
"We want people who come to Tiagarra to get a hands-on experience.
"To be handed a tool like visitors get at centres in the Northern Territory.
"First we want to open it all up for discussion, so people can tell us what they see and want to see at Tiagarra.
"We can then put it together in a package and present it to the enlarged stakeholder group."
Mr Docking said people can register their interest to become a volunteer at the open day and record their ideas for Tiagarra.
"If we know we can open for two or three days a week in September we can get the information out to all the tourism providers and the visitor centres."
Mr Docking said SRAC met again recently with the Devonport City Council and was talking to the council about what support it can
provide for the day-to-day operation of Tiagarra.
He said Tiagarra was no different to a lot of museums around the country that were struggling to survive and achieve their funding needs.
"I can see Tiagarra as different to what's at museums in Hobart and Launceston ...," Mr Docking said.
"For 18 years at Tiagarra you've had people who are passionate not only for reconciliation, but also to display our culture to the world that's coming in the door.
"Having Tiagarra shut has hurt a lot of people."
More than 17 months ago SRAC said it could no longer run Tiagarra under the old business model and the doors were shut except to group phone bookings.
SRAC's lease of Tiagarra expires in 2015.
The building is owned by the Devonport City Council which maintains it.
NAIDOC Week open day Tiagarra, July 12. Guided tours of the museum at 11am and guided walks of the headland at 2pm.
________________________________________________________________________
27 June 2014
Tiagarra museum may reopen doors
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
DEVONPORT tourist attraction Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre could reopen at least a few days a week in September.
Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation is calling for more volunteers to help at the centre and wants feedback from the community on what it is that people would like to see happen at the financially-embattled Tiagarra.
SRAC board member Paul Docking hopes the centre has enough volunteers to finally open the doors again in September, well before summer and the next tourist season.
An open day is being held at Tiagarra on July 12 as part of NAIDOC Week.
"We want as many volunteers as we can get - both indigenous and non indigenous people," Mr Docking said.
"We already have some volunteers offering to help at Tiagarra and we need more.
"We have a lot of our artefacts that have been donated over the years and they're still sitting in their boxes with their cabinets sitting here empty.
"We want people who come to Tiagarra to get a hands-on experience.
"To be handed a tool like visitors get at centres in the Northern Territory.
"First we want to open it all up for discussion, so people can tell us what they see and want to see at Tiagarra.
"We can then put it together in a package and present it to the enlarged stakeholder group."
Mr Docking said people can register their interest to become a volunteer at the open day and record their ideas for Tiagarra.
"If we know we can open for two or three days a week in September we can get the information out to all the tourism providers and the visitor centres."
Mr Docking said SRAC met again recently with the Devonport City Council and was talking to the council about what support it can
provide for the day-to-day operation of Tiagarra.
He said Tiagarra was no different to a lot of museums around the country that were struggling to survive and achieve their funding needs.
"I can see Tiagarra as different to what's at museums in Hobart and Launceston ...," Mr Docking said.
"For 18 years at Tiagarra you've had people who are passionate not only for reconciliation, but also to display our culture to the world that's coming in the door.
"Having Tiagarra shut has hurt a lot of people."
More than 17 months ago SRAC said it could no longer run Tiagarra under the old business model and the doors were shut except to group phone bookings.
SRAC's lease of Tiagarra expires in 2015.
The building is owned by the Devonport City Council which maintains it.
NAIDOC Week open day Tiagarra, July 12. Guided tours of the museum at 11am and guided walks of the headland at 2pm.
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21 June 2014
Aquatic centre to cost council $1.41 million
Advocate
SEAN FORD
p.11
DEVONPORT'S revamped Splash aquatic centre is expected to cost the city council $1.41 million in 2014-15.
It will be the biggest of a string of major "cost centres" for a council that has still managed to produce a budget with a zero rates rise.
The Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre will be another major cost, and is budgeted to lose more than $948,000.
That is up from a budgeted loss of nearly $838,000 for the current financial year.
The centre's income is projected to be just $201,500.
The Bass Strait Maritime Centre is expected to burn through more than $529,000, with income of just $120,000.
The Devonport Regional Gallery is budgeted to lose nearly $503,000.
The performance of the Devonport Recreation Centre is expected to improve significantly, but it is still budgeted to lose $333,000 (down from a budgeted $413,000 loss for 2013-14).
The East Devonport Recreation Centre is expected to lose nearly $238,000 and the visitor information centre $452,000.
Its budgeted income falls from $125,000 to $90,000.
Maintenance of the mothballed Tiagarra Aboriginal tourist attraction is budgeted to cost more than $15,000.
The Julie Burgess vessel is expected to lose nearly $67,000 and historic Home Hill nearly $112,000.
The council is budgeting for a $927,000 surplus from parking (income of $2.47 million and expenses of $1.55 million).
The figures above are all budgeted net operating results.
________________________________________________________________________
Aquatic centre to cost council $1.41 million
Advocate
SEAN FORD
p.11
DEVONPORT'S revamped Splash aquatic centre is expected to cost the city council $1.41 million in 2014-15.
It will be the biggest of a string of major "cost centres" for a council that has still managed to produce a budget with a zero rates rise.
The Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre will be another major cost, and is budgeted to lose more than $948,000.
That is up from a budgeted loss of nearly $838,000 for the current financial year.
The centre's income is projected to be just $201,500.
The Bass Strait Maritime Centre is expected to burn through more than $529,000, with income of just $120,000.
The Devonport Regional Gallery is budgeted to lose nearly $503,000.
The performance of the Devonport Recreation Centre is expected to improve significantly, but it is still budgeted to lose $333,000 (down from a budgeted $413,000 loss for 2013-14).
The East Devonport Recreation Centre is expected to lose nearly $238,000 and the visitor information centre $452,000.
Its budgeted income falls from $125,000 to $90,000.
Maintenance of the mothballed Tiagarra Aboriginal tourist attraction is budgeted to cost more than $15,000.
The Julie Burgess vessel is expected to lose nearly $67,000 and historic Home Hill nearly $112,000.
The council is budgeting for a $927,000 surplus from parking (income of $2.47 million and expenses of $1.55 million).
The figures above are all budgeted net operating results.
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18 June 2014
Centre costing thousands to sit empty
Advocate
p.7
Libby Bingham
Centre costing thousands to sit empty
Advocate
p.7
Libby Bingham
18 June 2014
Centre costing thousands to sit empty
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.7
THE future of Devonport's Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre has reached another critical point after attempted break-ins. Tiagarra has been left to sit vacant at Bluff beach since it was closed 17 months ago due to operational losses.
Despite being shut, the Devonport City Council- owned building is costing ratepayers $30,000 a year to maintain and was recently damaged as a result of two would-be break-ins.
Devonport City Council executive manager community services Evonne Ewins confirmed there were attempted break-ins over consecutive nights in late April and at the same time a fire was started at the Bluff toilets.
Mrs Ewins said there was only minor lock damage for the council to repair.
"We don't believe they entered the building and were deterred by the security system which is place," Mrs Ewins said.
More talks about Tiagarra's future are being held between the council and Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation this week.
Recently Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre state secretary Ruth Langford highlighted in a media report that the number one request international tourists to Australia make is to have an indigenous experience, and when they come to Tasmania to have a wilderness experience.
Ms Langford said developing Aboriginal tourism experiences would be a win-win for Tasmania's tourism industry and the state's indigenous community.
A notion which is shared by the council which has been keen to determine Tiagarra's future in close partnership with SRAC.
"The council wants to work with SRAC to reopen Tiagarra," Mrs Ewins said.
In January a committee was formed to determine interest in developing a sustainable business model for Tiagarra.
Chairwoman Alderman Annette Rockliff said then that the group brought together for the first time the right kind of expertise to reopen Tiagarra and attract required funding.
Ald Rockliff said it was hurting Devonport's tourism reputation if visitors were arriving when Tiagarra was shut.
The centre is faced with issues of ageing infrastructure and the question of who is going to run it after SRAC said it was not in a position to at this stage.
The council owns the building and leases it to SRAC, with the lease due to run out next year.
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18 June 2014
Dole scheme might assist in reopening
Advocate LIBBY BINGHAM p.7
THE federal government's reinstated Work for the Dole scheme could potentially provide at least some of the volunteers that Tiagarra needs to reopen its doors again.
That's according to a spokesman for the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation.
Corporation board member Paul Docking said SRAC was "confident" that it could reopen Tiagarra, even though the Devonport tourist attraction has been closed for two tourist seasons.
Mr Docking said funding was needed at the moment for a facilitator to be installed at Tiagarra.
Tiagarra had to shut its doors after SRAC said it could no longer operate the loss-making centre under the old business model.
Mr Docking said the corporation board was still in negotiations with the Devonport City Council regarding Tiagarra.
Dole scheme might assist in reopening
Advocate LIBBY BINGHAM p.7
THE federal government's reinstated Work for the Dole scheme could potentially provide at least some of the volunteers that Tiagarra needs to reopen its doors again.
That's according to a spokesman for the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation.
Corporation board member Paul Docking said SRAC was "confident" that it could reopen Tiagarra, even though the Devonport tourist attraction has been closed for two tourist seasons.
Mr Docking said funding was needed at the moment for a facilitator to be installed at Tiagarra.
Tiagarra had to shut its doors after SRAC said it could no longer operate the loss-making centre under the old business model.
Mr Docking said the corporation board was still in negotiations with the Devonport City Council regarding Tiagarra.
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30 Jan 2014
'Vital showcase' for indigenous culture
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.4
'Vital showcase' for indigenous culture
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.4
30 Jan 2014
'Vital showcase' for indigenous culture
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.4
INCREASED demand for understanding indigenous culture and its value as a tourism attraction, meant it would be an "absolute tragedy" if Devonport's Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum did not reopen to the public.
That's the view of Greens MHA Paul O'Halloran.
"It is absolutely important we showcase our rich indigenous history - there are so many stories that are untold," Mr O'Halloran said.
"As a community we need to develop a greater understanding of the contribution indigenous Tasmanians have made and will continue to make; and places like Tiagarra are really important icons from which to showcase some of those stories.
"We need to work in cooperation with the indigenous community, in terms of working on a way to make sure that it doesn't close (for good)."
Labor MHA Brenton Best said a government museum assistance program could provide some of the support Tiagarra would need to reopen.
Mr Best said he had not been approached about assistance for Tiagarra since the loss making centre had to close to the public in 2012.
At the time, Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation told the Devonport City Council it could no longer run Tiagarra as it did not have the funds or the people.
Mr Best said about $1 million was used to help relocate SRAC from its inadequate offices at East Devonport to new offices at Latrobe and part of the money, which came from the sale of the building at East Devonport, was to go to help with Tiagarra.
"It probably wasn't enough to develop Tiagarra to where it needs to be and there were some discussions at the time around assistance through other government programs like the museum assistance program," Mr Best said.
"It can provide a grant and a curator that comes in to help on a number of levels: to train people in how to administer (a museum)."
Mr Best said Tiagarra is an important part of Tasmania's indigenous culture.
"Tiagarra is an important experience for local, interstate and international tourism and it is important for Devonport," he said.
"Tiagarra seems to need the same level of skills to run it and same support other museums get around the state.
"The Bass Strait Maritime Museum is an example of what can happen. Devonport could blend Tiagarra with the Maritime Museum and the redevelopment of the surf club and restaurants."
A new Tiagarra working committee will meet again in February to look at future options for Tiagarra.
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29 Jan 2014
Decision closer on future of TIAGARRA - Centre a $30 K council drain
Advocate
p.1
Decision closer on future of TIAGARRA - Centre a $30 K council drain
Advocate
p.1
29 Jan 2014
Decision closer on future of Tiagarra CENTRE A $30K COUNCIL DRAIN
Advocate BRIAN WINTER p.1
DEVONPORT ratepayers are forking out $30,000 a year to maintain the Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum building, which has been closed to the public since 2012.
However, a decision on the future of the nationally significant Aboriginal site and museum has now moved a step closer, after formation of a working committee, which includes the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
LIBBY BINGHAM reports, Page 6.
________________________________________________________________________
Decision closer on future of Tiagarra CENTRE A $30K COUNCIL DRAIN
Advocate BRIAN WINTER p.1
DEVONPORT ratepayers are forking out $30,000 a year to maintain the Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum building, which has been closed to the public since 2012.
However, a decision on the future of the nationally significant Aboriginal site and museum has now moved a step closer, after formation of a working committee, which includes the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
LIBBY BINGHAM reports, Page 6.
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29 Jan 2014
Committee aiming for a brighter TIAGARRA future
Advocate
p.6
Libby Bingham
Committee aiming for a brighter TIAGARRA future
Advocate
p.6
Libby Bingham
29 Jan 2014
Committee aiming for brighter Tiagarra future
ADVOCATE
p.6
WHETHER it is open or shut, Devonport ratepayers must fork out $30,000 a year to maintain the Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum building, which closed its doors to the public in 2012 after operational losses.
However, at least a decision on the future of the nationally significant Aboriginal site and museum has moved a step closer, after a working committee has been formed that includes the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Newly appointed Tiagarra working committee chairwoman Alderman Annette Rockliff said a meeting held late last year to determine interest in developing a sustainable model for Tiagarra brought together for the first time the right kind of expertise and clout to possibly facilitate reopening Tiagarra and attract the significant funds it needs.
The meeting included TMAG, Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, Arts Tasmania, Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation for Education, Aboriginal Education Tasmania, the Department of Economic Tourism and the Arts, Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation and Devonport City Council.
``It was exciting to bring these groups to the table with all the experience we could possibly need to help take Tiagarra where it needs to go from a cultural, tourist and economic point of view,'' Alderman Rockliff said.
Except for school bookings Tiagarra has been closed during two peak tourist seasons so far.
Alderman Rockliff said it hurts Devonport's tourism reputation if people arrived at Tiagarra and it was shut.
But she was optimistic that with everyone at the table, ``we can make some positive steps forward we were not able to make before''.
``The outcome of the meeting was positive and stakeholders all have a strong interest in looking at options for the facility - this has not been the approach before and it opens up new possibilities to be explored,'' she said.
A spokeswoman for SRAC said it was not in a position to say anything before the committee met again next month to start to look at options for Tiagarra.
Devonport Mayor Steve Martin said the interest in developing the Tasmanian Aboriginal story was extremely high across the state and Devonport was in a unique position with what it already had at Tiagarra.
He said Devonport's Tourism Development Strategy identified two themes that underpinned the Devonport story, being the rich maritime history and the significant Aboriginal story.
Alderman Rockliff said the maritime story had already been told at the Bass Strait Maritime Centre and there was an opportunity to realise at Tiagarra.
The issues facing Tiagarra included:
- Ageing infrastructure;
- Council owns the building and leases it to Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation;
- It's in the interest of all to determine a way forward as soon as possible;
- Facilities like museums and galleries often do not generate revenue to fund ongoing operations;
- A future model has to look at where funds can be generated to ensure viability;
At this point SRAC is not in a position to run Tiagarra; and Tiagarra remains closed while SRAC continues to offer school and group bookings.
________________________________________________________________________
Committee aiming for brighter Tiagarra future
ADVOCATE
p.6
WHETHER it is open or shut, Devonport ratepayers must fork out $30,000 a year to maintain the Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum building, which closed its doors to the public in 2012 after operational losses.
However, at least a decision on the future of the nationally significant Aboriginal site and museum has moved a step closer, after a working committee has been formed that includes the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Newly appointed Tiagarra working committee chairwoman Alderman Annette Rockliff said a meeting held late last year to determine interest in developing a sustainable model for Tiagarra brought together for the first time the right kind of expertise and clout to possibly facilitate reopening Tiagarra and attract the significant funds it needs.
The meeting included TMAG, Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania, Arts Tasmania, Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation for Education, Aboriginal Education Tasmania, the Department of Economic Tourism and the Arts, Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation and Devonport City Council.
``It was exciting to bring these groups to the table with all the experience we could possibly need to help take Tiagarra where it needs to go from a cultural, tourist and economic point of view,'' Alderman Rockliff said.
Except for school bookings Tiagarra has been closed during two peak tourist seasons so far.
Alderman Rockliff said it hurts Devonport's tourism reputation if people arrived at Tiagarra and it was shut.
But she was optimistic that with everyone at the table, ``we can make some positive steps forward we were not able to make before''.
``The outcome of the meeting was positive and stakeholders all have a strong interest in looking at options for the facility - this has not been the approach before and it opens up new possibilities to be explored,'' she said.
A spokeswoman for SRAC said it was not in a position to say anything before the committee met again next month to start to look at options for Tiagarra.
Devonport Mayor Steve Martin said the interest in developing the Tasmanian Aboriginal story was extremely high across the state and Devonport was in a unique position with what it already had at Tiagarra.
He said Devonport's Tourism Development Strategy identified two themes that underpinned the Devonport story, being the rich maritime history and the significant Aboriginal story.
Alderman Rockliff said the maritime story had already been told at the Bass Strait Maritime Centre and there was an opportunity to realise at Tiagarra.
The issues facing Tiagarra included:
- Ageing infrastructure;
- Council owns the building and leases it to Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation;
- It's in the interest of all to determine a way forward as soon as possible;
- Facilities like museums and galleries often do not generate revenue to fund ongoing operations;
- A future model has to look at where funds can be generated to ensure viability;
At this point SRAC is not in a position to run Tiagarra; and Tiagarra remains closed while SRAC continues to offer school and group bookings.
________________________________________________________________________
2013
________________________________________________________________________
1 Sept 2013
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sunday Tasmanian
p.61
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sunday Tasmanian
p.61
________________________________________________________________________
25 Aug 2013
Museum at crossroads
Sunday Tasmanian
SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON
p.17
THE fate of Devonport's Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre could be decided within weeks.
The centre shut its doors in December due to financial and operational issues and opens only by appointment for tour groups.
It is the only centre of its kind in Tasmania and was the second Aboriginal museum in Australia.
Paul Docking, president of the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation, which leases the site, said he wanted the museum reopened.
However he said at least $96,000 a year was needed to pay staff to operate it.
Devonport City Council acting general manager Matthew Atkins said Tiagarra's stakeholders would meet to work out the responsibilities of the local attraction.
``The meeting will hopefully be able to move Tiagarra forward. We've got a number of interested parties involved in the centre and the meeting will be about getting all the stakeholders together and working out responsibilities for this important part of Devonport,'' he said.
``The meeting is really important. It's the first time all the groups involved will discuss the centre's future and hopefully we'll be able to work out a solution,'' he said.
There have been suggestions that Tiagarra could reopen under a volunteer model, but Mr Docking said it would be hard to operate without outside funding because of the museum's low income.
``It could be reopened with volunteers, but it will be difficult for us to justify insurance when nobody is buying stuff from the museum,'' he said.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson is a UTAS journalism student
________________________________________________________________________
Museum at crossroads
Sunday Tasmanian
SIMEON THOMAS-WILSON
p.17
THE fate of Devonport's Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre could be decided within weeks.
The centre shut its doors in December due to financial and operational issues and opens only by appointment for tour groups.
It is the only centre of its kind in Tasmania and was the second Aboriginal museum in Australia.
Paul Docking, president of the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation, which leases the site, said he wanted the museum reopened.
However he said at least $96,000 a year was needed to pay staff to operate it.
Devonport City Council acting general manager Matthew Atkins said Tiagarra's stakeholders would meet to work out the responsibilities of the local attraction.
``The meeting will hopefully be able to move Tiagarra forward. We've got a number of interested parties involved in the centre and the meeting will be about getting all the stakeholders together and working out responsibilities for this important part of Devonport,'' he said.
``The meeting is really important. It's the first time all the groups involved will discuss the centre's future and hopefully we'll be able to work out a solution,'' he said.
There have been suggestions that Tiagarra could reopen under a volunteer model, but Mr Docking said it would be hard to operate without outside funding because of the museum's low income.
``It could be reopened with volunteers, but it will be difficult for us to justify insurance when nobody is buying stuff from the museum,'' he said.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson is a UTAS journalism student
________________________________________________________________________
8 Aug 2013
Raise your voice
Advocate
p18
Raise your voice
Advocate
p18
________________________________________________________________________
2 Aug 2013
Examiner
Environmental Heritage wins big
p.14
Examiner
Environmental Heritage wins big
p.14
________________________________________________________________________
31 July 2013
Centre deserves funding
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM p.14
DEVONPORT'S Victoria Parade offers a picturesque drive to Bluff Beach or you can take the flat walking track from the city to the Devonport lighthouse.
At the mouth of the Mersey River the Spirit of the Sea statue, or the rooster on the rock to some, was meant to bring in five busloads of tourists a week from one bus company alone, but they never did flock to see this expensive piece of public art.
To add salt to the wound the city reportedly pays operating costs for the Spirit of the Sea of about $17,000.
When this was reported a letter writer to The Advocate said: "If it had flashing lights, pivoted on its stand or even played a musical greeting to passengers coming into Devonport on the ferry'' they may be able to see where some of the money has been spent. Oh well, at least the members of that well-meaning service club (Rotary) that fought so hard to foist the statue on Devonport must like it.
We've also got Braddon backbencher Brenton Best to thank.
While the good folk were busy fund-raising to buy the controversial and outlandishly expensive bronze the rest of us were lulled into a false sense of security thinking it would take them hopefully forever.
Mr Best ensured the project went ahead when it received $180,000 from the state purse. Never mind one respected art dealer suggested it was only worth $20,000. Nonetheless we've got one of the richest public artworks in the state for better or worse.
A fact to still make a grown woman cry.
A little further around the foreshore at the Bluff I could weep to see the same kind of effort and money put into the Tiagarra Museum and Culture Centre, to help it become a dynamic tourism product open 365 days a year.
A cloud hangs over the future of what should be one of Devonport's major tourist attractions until it closed its doors eight months ago.
Tiagarra is built on a registered Aboriginal site of national significance, and is the only centre of its kind in the state but it clearly needs a facelift.
It needs interpretation and signage on the glorious headland walk.
The Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation has told the Devonport City Council it requires some new expertise and the two groups are working together to hopefully reopen the venue.
Let's hope the state and federal governments come to the party and there is help for this special place to realise its true potential.
It needs investment and a business plan.
Tiagarra is important to Tasmania as a celebration of Aboriginal culture and history, not just as a museum, and has a story to tell which is attracting international and national visitors as well as local school children.
Busloads will come, but the doors need to open.
________________________________________________________________________
Centre deserves funding
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM p.14
DEVONPORT'S Victoria Parade offers a picturesque drive to Bluff Beach or you can take the flat walking track from the city to the Devonport lighthouse.
At the mouth of the Mersey River the Spirit of the Sea statue, or the rooster on the rock to some, was meant to bring in five busloads of tourists a week from one bus company alone, but they never did flock to see this expensive piece of public art.
To add salt to the wound the city reportedly pays operating costs for the Spirit of the Sea of about $17,000.
When this was reported a letter writer to The Advocate said: "If it had flashing lights, pivoted on its stand or even played a musical greeting to passengers coming into Devonport on the ferry'' they may be able to see where some of the money has been spent. Oh well, at least the members of that well-meaning service club (Rotary) that fought so hard to foist the statue on Devonport must like it.
We've also got Braddon backbencher Brenton Best to thank.
While the good folk were busy fund-raising to buy the controversial and outlandishly expensive bronze the rest of us were lulled into a false sense of security thinking it would take them hopefully forever.
Mr Best ensured the project went ahead when it received $180,000 from the state purse. Never mind one respected art dealer suggested it was only worth $20,000. Nonetheless we've got one of the richest public artworks in the state for better or worse.
A fact to still make a grown woman cry.
A little further around the foreshore at the Bluff I could weep to see the same kind of effort and money put into the Tiagarra Museum and Culture Centre, to help it become a dynamic tourism product open 365 days a year.
A cloud hangs over the future of what should be one of Devonport's major tourist attractions until it closed its doors eight months ago.
Tiagarra is built on a registered Aboriginal site of national significance, and is the only centre of its kind in the state but it clearly needs a facelift.
It needs interpretation and signage on the glorious headland walk.
The Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation has told the Devonport City Council it requires some new expertise and the two groups are working together to hopefully reopen the venue.
Let's hope the state and federal governments come to the party and there is help for this special place to realise its true potential.
It needs investment and a business plan.
Tiagarra is important to Tasmania as a celebration of Aboriginal culture and history, not just as a museum, and has a story to tell which is attracting international and national visitors as well as local school children.
Busloads will come, but the doors need to open.
________________________________________________________________________
27 July 2013
The business of tourists' pleasure
Advocate LIBBY BINGHAM p.D02
REGIONAL tourism guru Ian Waller is a workaholic.
"I live to work,'' he admits.
"I find it really hard to stop.'' Ian is known for sending emails in the wee hours.
There is a touch of obsessive compulsive behaviour in having to check his phone the minute he wakes to clear his inbox.
"It controls my life,'' he nods. There's some irony in the fact that if too many people behaved just like he does, it would hurt the tourism statistics it is his job to improve.
"We have been running significant intrastate campaigning - far more than any other Tasmanian region over the past 12 months,'' Ian says.
Apparently all the campaigning has paid off. For the year ending March 2013, latest data from the Tasmanian Visitor Survey
reported changes in visitor numbers in the four regions showing: Southern, up 12 per cent; East Coast, down 8 per cent; Northern, showing no significant change and Cradle Coast was up by 2 per cent .
But Ian doesn't gild the lily. He says the region has to get serious about competing globally in changed markets. China and India are emerging as important growth areas and the Cradle Coast Authority tourism crew has been conducting workshops.
"Do you put a berko in the room for guests who like to boil noodles before bed?'' Ian says. Never under value what people do.
"It might sound cliched but I think it is our people (in Tasmania) that are our greatest strength.
"Which is why it is upsetting to get people who can be rude and aggressive and you would like to say 'perhaps the tourism industry isn't for you'.
"The last few years we have seen a downward trend (in visitation) and that's been an enormous frustration to everybody and often we try to find excuses - we say it's the economy, it's the Australian dollar, it's airline strikes ... the reality is we are an incredibly competitive (global) market and if we don't compete aggressively by providing quality product, outstanding service and quality experiences we will just get smashed by the opposition.''
The former motel owner understands what the regional tourism operators have to deal with. As the person paid to sell the region it makes him a bit embarrassed at times.
"I get a pay cheque at the end of the week to put in the bank and sometimes the tourism operators don't get to do that,'' he says.
Ian is passionate in his belief the value of tourism is being undersold and that he is the man to help change it.
He was humbled to be recognised for a 10-year contribution to regional tourism when he was inducted into the Australian Regional Tourism Network Hall of Fame.
He is speaking to 'Scape hot on the heels of last week's successful Cradle Coast Regional Tourism forum, where Australian tourism royalty, Terri Irwin, was guest speaker and gave one of the great lines. "If you haven't been to Tasmania, you aren't fair dinkum Australian,'' Ms Irwin declared.
Ian Waller says the Irwins rate the North-West corner of the state in particular and often sneak in and out for holidays. IAN Waller came home to North-West Tasmania 11 years ago after 25 years away.
He was born in Launceston and moved to Ulverstone where his parents had a newsagency. Ian left to complete course in community welfare in Melbourne but halfway through found out the government job he was promised lost its funding. The year before he earnt his board as a supervisor at a home for the intellectually disabled in Hobart while he did a hospitality management course. He worked for a hotel chain in Melbourne and moved through ranks to assistant manager but found it wasn't for him.
Next he got a job running a home for 30 physically disabled people, which he did for four years, and found it rewarding work. He still looks back on this time as having a big impact on him.
Ian resumed his hospitality career when he bought his own motel outside Bendigo and was there four years.
Disaster struck when Ian and his Victorian wife Lorna sold their business and invested all in a gold mining company only to lose every cent they had. "We were stupid. We put all our eggs in the one basket,'' Ian says.
"We had two kids and ended up living with Lorna's parents. "I was devastated. You can understand why people do things they should not do to themselves.'' It took a long time to pick himself up again.
"We moved to Mildura and for six years managed motels.''
Until the general manager of the Mildura City Council called with a challenge to take over the local tourist association that just fell over.
"I said there was 'no hope in hell','' Ian laughs. He thought: "they were useless bastards''.
"The next morning my ego took over and I thought I could do a better job.'' From scratch he built the new organisation into Sunraysia Tourism. Ian found his niche and kept working in regional tourism when the family of five moved to Mount Gambier for seven years.
"They were an incredibly successful seven years where I learnt a lot about the industry,'' he says. It was Coonawarra wine country and Ian developed "a love of red wine that continues.''
The area was renamed Limestone Coast Tourism with some reluctance from locals but they changed their mind after it was a success and he sees a parallel to the Tarkine issue.
Ian came back to Tasmania to work as Cradle Coast Authority regional tourism development manager.
He said it was not clearly understood within the industry what his role was. "It took a while to build some credibility around the fact the CCA supports the tourism industry,'' Ian explains.
What helped was having a huge bucket of federal sustainable regions funding to pour into tourism projects - until it ran out.
Ian said tourist operators can not continue to look to others, be it local councils or government, to market their businesses, it's up to them to do that and to work together with partners to build a more vibrant industry.
He said there is still a lack of recognition of the true value of tourism to the region.
"We've got to create more quality tourism product because it's important to everyone in the region,'' he says.
"When the (West Coast Wilderness) Railway issue came up, some people were saying 'it's a shame'.
"It was not a shame it was a bloody crisis - we need more product we can't afford to lose product.''
"I think we have to be honest with ourselves about our market, which is people who want to have a real Tasmanian experience and who don't necessarily want to be city bound. "They want to get out and see and touch and meet the real Tasmania which is what we do exceptionally well for all market sectors.''
Ian backed recent comments made by Tourism Tasmania chief executive Tony Fitzgerald.
Mr Fitzgerald said visitors are intrigued by the state's evolving story and the passion and conflict around issues like the Tarkine are all part of the story.
"It has shaped who we are and it appeals to our visitors,'' Mr Fitzgerald said.
Ian said Tasmania should not try to hide from the conflict of the forestry debate or its indigenous history.
"We should be talking about it and working with our indigenous community to tell the stories of the West Coast and the far North-West and that includes the tragedies''
"We should ask why isn't a place like Tiagarra in Devonport a dynamic tourism product open 365 days a year? "We should be prepared to tell our whole story and it's exactly the same with mining and forestry in the Tarkine.
He said the process to name the Tarkine "was a dog's breakfast and was embarrassing to us all'' but the outcome can benefit everyone.
"Take the local aggro out of the Tarkine because nothing from a tourism perspective should impact on locals enjoying their recreational playground, or agriculture, or industry,'' Ian said.
"The new Tarkine drive project will create access to a wilderness area - but we're not for one minute saying it's all pristine environment.
"It is up to us to build the Tarkine product and that's about signage to say 'welcome to the timber industry story', 'welcome to the mining story', 'welcome to the wilderness', 'welcome to the indigenous story'.
"I believe in five years the Tarkine will be the environmental spot where people go to say 'wow where are we'. "It represents the very soul of what our region is all about and ultimately the people of the North-West will benefit.''
Ian warns the most important part now is delivering.
"Tasmania is the only state in Australia where word of mouth is within the top four or five generators of business so we have got to deliver.'' It's the job Ian takes to heart.
Ever affable, he says he can tend to use his quirky sense of humour to hide when cracks appear.
"I try not to take things too seriously or exhibit anger but I do take them incredibly seriously.
"I believe in the region and I believe in the tourism industry.
"I feel fortunate doing what I am doing.''
Even more since his brother Doug died from lung cancer at 61 and left Ian his caravan which he did what he never does and went away for three weeks.
"I came back with a changed attitude to life,'' he says.
"You have to go away sometimes life should be more fun.''
________________________________________________________________________
The business of tourists' pleasure
Advocate LIBBY BINGHAM p.D02
REGIONAL tourism guru Ian Waller is a workaholic.
"I live to work,'' he admits.
"I find it really hard to stop.'' Ian is known for sending emails in the wee hours.
There is a touch of obsessive compulsive behaviour in having to check his phone the minute he wakes to clear his inbox.
"It controls my life,'' he nods. There's some irony in the fact that if too many people behaved just like he does, it would hurt the tourism statistics it is his job to improve.
"We have been running significant intrastate campaigning - far more than any other Tasmanian region over the past 12 months,'' Ian says.
Apparently all the campaigning has paid off. For the year ending March 2013, latest data from the Tasmanian Visitor Survey
reported changes in visitor numbers in the four regions showing: Southern, up 12 per cent; East Coast, down 8 per cent; Northern, showing no significant change and Cradle Coast was up by 2 per cent .
But Ian doesn't gild the lily. He says the region has to get serious about competing globally in changed markets. China and India are emerging as important growth areas and the Cradle Coast Authority tourism crew has been conducting workshops.
"Do you put a berko in the room for guests who like to boil noodles before bed?'' Ian says. Never under value what people do.
"It might sound cliched but I think it is our people (in Tasmania) that are our greatest strength.
"Which is why it is upsetting to get people who can be rude and aggressive and you would like to say 'perhaps the tourism industry isn't for you'.
"The last few years we have seen a downward trend (in visitation) and that's been an enormous frustration to everybody and often we try to find excuses - we say it's the economy, it's the Australian dollar, it's airline strikes ... the reality is we are an incredibly competitive (global) market and if we don't compete aggressively by providing quality product, outstanding service and quality experiences we will just get smashed by the opposition.''
The former motel owner understands what the regional tourism operators have to deal with. As the person paid to sell the region it makes him a bit embarrassed at times.
"I get a pay cheque at the end of the week to put in the bank and sometimes the tourism operators don't get to do that,'' he says.
Ian is passionate in his belief the value of tourism is being undersold and that he is the man to help change it.
He was humbled to be recognised for a 10-year contribution to regional tourism when he was inducted into the Australian Regional Tourism Network Hall of Fame.
He is speaking to 'Scape hot on the heels of last week's successful Cradle Coast Regional Tourism forum, where Australian tourism royalty, Terri Irwin, was guest speaker and gave one of the great lines. "If you haven't been to Tasmania, you aren't fair dinkum Australian,'' Ms Irwin declared.
Ian Waller says the Irwins rate the North-West corner of the state in particular and often sneak in and out for holidays. IAN Waller came home to North-West Tasmania 11 years ago after 25 years away.
He was born in Launceston and moved to Ulverstone where his parents had a newsagency. Ian left to complete course in community welfare in Melbourne but halfway through found out the government job he was promised lost its funding. The year before he earnt his board as a supervisor at a home for the intellectually disabled in Hobart while he did a hospitality management course. He worked for a hotel chain in Melbourne and moved through ranks to assistant manager but found it wasn't for him.
Next he got a job running a home for 30 physically disabled people, which he did for four years, and found it rewarding work. He still looks back on this time as having a big impact on him.
Ian resumed his hospitality career when he bought his own motel outside Bendigo and was there four years.
Disaster struck when Ian and his Victorian wife Lorna sold their business and invested all in a gold mining company only to lose every cent they had. "We were stupid. We put all our eggs in the one basket,'' Ian says.
"We had two kids and ended up living with Lorna's parents. "I was devastated. You can understand why people do things they should not do to themselves.'' It took a long time to pick himself up again.
"We moved to Mildura and for six years managed motels.''
Until the general manager of the Mildura City Council called with a challenge to take over the local tourist association that just fell over.
"I said there was 'no hope in hell','' Ian laughs. He thought: "they were useless bastards''.
"The next morning my ego took over and I thought I could do a better job.'' From scratch he built the new organisation into Sunraysia Tourism. Ian found his niche and kept working in regional tourism when the family of five moved to Mount Gambier for seven years.
"They were an incredibly successful seven years where I learnt a lot about the industry,'' he says. It was Coonawarra wine country and Ian developed "a love of red wine that continues.''
The area was renamed Limestone Coast Tourism with some reluctance from locals but they changed their mind after it was a success and he sees a parallel to the Tarkine issue.
Ian came back to Tasmania to work as Cradle Coast Authority regional tourism development manager.
He said it was not clearly understood within the industry what his role was. "It took a while to build some credibility around the fact the CCA supports the tourism industry,'' Ian explains.
What helped was having a huge bucket of federal sustainable regions funding to pour into tourism projects - until it ran out.
Ian said tourist operators can not continue to look to others, be it local councils or government, to market their businesses, it's up to them to do that and to work together with partners to build a more vibrant industry.
He said there is still a lack of recognition of the true value of tourism to the region.
"We've got to create more quality tourism product because it's important to everyone in the region,'' he says.
"When the (West Coast Wilderness) Railway issue came up, some people were saying 'it's a shame'.
"It was not a shame it was a bloody crisis - we need more product we can't afford to lose product.''
"I think we have to be honest with ourselves about our market, which is people who want to have a real Tasmanian experience and who don't necessarily want to be city bound. "They want to get out and see and touch and meet the real Tasmania which is what we do exceptionally well for all market sectors.''
Ian backed recent comments made by Tourism Tasmania chief executive Tony Fitzgerald.
Mr Fitzgerald said visitors are intrigued by the state's evolving story and the passion and conflict around issues like the Tarkine are all part of the story.
"It has shaped who we are and it appeals to our visitors,'' Mr Fitzgerald said.
Ian said Tasmania should not try to hide from the conflict of the forestry debate or its indigenous history.
"We should be talking about it and working with our indigenous community to tell the stories of the West Coast and the far North-West and that includes the tragedies''
"We should ask why isn't a place like Tiagarra in Devonport a dynamic tourism product open 365 days a year? "We should be prepared to tell our whole story and it's exactly the same with mining and forestry in the Tarkine.
He said the process to name the Tarkine "was a dog's breakfast and was embarrassing to us all'' but the outcome can benefit everyone.
"Take the local aggro out of the Tarkine because nothing from a tourism perspective should impact on locals enjoying their recreational playground, or agriculture, or industry,'' Ian said.
"The new Tarkine drive project will create access to a wilderness area - but we're not for one minute saying it's all pristine environment.
"It is up to us to build the Tarkine product and that's about signage to say 'welcome to the timber industry story', 'welcome to the mining story', 'welcome to the wilderness', 'welcome to the indigenous story'.
"I believe in five years the Tarkine will be the environmental spot where people go to say 'wow where are we'. "It represents the very soul of what our region is all about and ultimately the people of the North-West will benefit.''
Ian warns the most important part now is delivering.
"Tasmania is the only state in Australia where word of mouth is within the top four or five generators of business so we have got to deliver.'' It's the job Ian takes to heart.
Ever affable, he says he can tend to use his quirky sense of humour to hide when cracks appear.
"I try not to take things too seriously or exhibit anger but I do take them incredibly seriously.
"I believe in the region and I believe in the tourism industry.
"I feel fortunate doing what I am doing.''
Even more since his brother Doug died from lung cancer at 61 and left Ian his caravan which he did what he never does and went away for three weeks.
"I came back with a changed attitude to life,'' he says.
"You have to go away sometimes life should be more fun.''
________________________________________________________________________
22 July 2013
NAIDOC
Advocate
p.17
NAIDOC
Advocate
p.17
________________________________________________________________________
17 July 2013
NAIDOC
Advocate
p.21
NAIDOC
Advocate
p.21
|
________________________________________________________________________
|
15 July 2013
Tiagarra opens its doors
Advocate
p.9
Tiagarra opens its doors
Advocate
p.9
________________________________________________________________________
14 July 2013
NAIDOC Week ends with a bang at Tiagarra
Advocate
JONATHAN MALLINSON
TIAGARRA opened its doors to the public yesterday to end NAIDOC week.
It was a big day of NAIDOC celebrations on the Coast, which is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.
It's also an opportunity to recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.
Six Rivers president Paul Docking said it was great to have people come through the Tiagarra centre and experience some of the aboriginal culture.
"The centre was opened to everyone who wanted to come alone and enjoy tours through our museum,'' Mr Docking said.
People were also invited to share in a lunch and chat to some of the people involved at Tiagarra.
Uncle Daryl Medcraft took visitors through the museum passing on his knowledge of the area.
Along with Tiagarra opening in Devonport for the day, a march was conducted in Burnie on Friday with around 130 participants followed by a ball, where Burnie woman Pat Green was named Aboriginal of the Year.
SEE MORE IN TOMORROW'S ADVOCATE.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/1636373/naidoc-week-ends-with-a-bang-at-tiagarra/
________________________________________________________________________
10 July 2013
Future of TIAGARRA hangs in the balance
Advocate
p.5
Future of TIAGARRA hangs in the balance
Advocate
p.5
________________________________________________________________________
19 June 2013
Devonport centres face - huge operating losses
Advocate SEAN FORD p.5
DEVONPORT'S revamped Bass Strait Maritime Centre is forecast to lose more than $500,000 in 2013-14.
The Devonport City Council budget estimates the centre will bring in $221,000 in income and cost nearly $731,000 in expenses.
The Devonport Entertainment and Convention Centre, the Devonport Aquatic Centre and the visitor information centre are also expected to be major cash drains.
An operating loss of million is forecast for the pool, with the entertainment centre budgeted to lose nearly $838,000 and the visitor centre $415,000.
The Julie Burgess vessel project will lose a comparatively modest $38,000 if the budget is correct, and Aboriginal cultural and tourism centre Tiagarra will cost ratepayers $29,000.
The East Devonport Recreation Centre is forecast to lose $228,000 and the Devonport Recreation Centre $413,000. The council will spend $98,000 on maintenance and support for the historic Home Hill property.
Mayor Steve Martin said the budget, built on a 1.6 per cent rates rise for most, catered for higher costs of existing services, plus new services.
''In essence, we have been able to sustain what we have, establish new services, as well as plan effectively for the future." The budget includes $12 million for capital works.
Major items include:
$2.85 million for the completion of the new Devonport Indoor Aquatic Centre;
? million Mersey Vale Cemetery expansion million for the Living City project
$502,300 for energy efficiency initiatives; and, $431,000 for road safety improvements
The council will write to Infrastructure Minister David O'Byrne seeking confirmation state government funding would be available to upgrade the Stony Rise- Middle Rd junction.
''The intersection is council's highest priority in regard to safety improvements," Alderman Martin said.
''Whilst the intersection is still performing within acceptable design limits, the additional traffic generated from the new Homemaker Centre has brought forward the need for an upgrade."
________________________________________________________________________
27 April 2013
Salt of the - earth bring - sea to life - at centre
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.D02
HIRSUTE Lester Jackson may look a little bit like an old salt.
But before he jumped in the deep end he was pretty far removed from what you would call a maritime buff.
However, the Devonport City Council community partnerships manager was a man who loved his job.
He has been known to eat and sleep it.
So when he was given the responsibility to drive the new Bass Strait Maritime Centre project, he was soon hooked on how it could tell the story of Devonport and Bass Strait as it has never been told before.
Perhaps it was an advantage for him not to be a sailor as he set about creating a centre that would appeal to a wider audience and have something for everyone - including the ability to climb aboard and take the helm of a 1910 steamer, the SS Woniora, an impressive purpose-built ship simulator, and navigate her up a virtual Mersey River to dock.
Or just to be sitting on the glorious alfresco deck of the Bass Strait Diner, run as a not- for-profit enterprise by Devonfield Enterprises, where you overlook the parkland to the mouth of the actual Mersey River.
Lester, his boss DCC deputy general manager of community Evonne Ewins, and a dedicated crew of salt of the earth volunteers, have put in the hard yards and lived the challenge of building the centre for three years.
Sometimes a cold sweat and fear crept in that it would not happen in the time they had to get it open to satisfy deadlines and meet some exceedingly high community expectations.
When you are doing the work of a council, be it digging a ditch or building a museum, there are thousands of critics called ratepayers who have ownership of the project.
Attending the opening of the new $4-million centre a few weeks ago in front of 250 invited guests, a wave of emotion and relief swept over Lester as he could see where all the combined effort had paid off in bucketloads.
The Bass Strait Maritime Centre in itself is a beautiful building to visit.
It brings in the new and honours the old, which is the former harbour master's residence in Gloucester Avenue.
The Devonport Maritime Museum was first opened in an old house at East Devonport in 1973, until the harbour master's property became available in 1981 and the museum was relocated.
The new Bass Strait Maritime Centre celebrates its origins in the activities of two societies: the Devon Historical Society and the Devonport Maritime Museum Society.
With their amalgamation in 1999, a significant collection was created and maintained by a passionate if small group of volunteers up until this point.
A room will open in May that will tell the story of the development of the port city of Devonport and it is being created by the volunteers.
Where there were once a few visitors a week to the old maritime museum, there have been hundreds of people file through the doors at the new centre since it opened and they have responded positively.
On the day 'Scape visited, the centre was humming as four knowledgeable volunteer guides escorted visitors and were telling the compelling stories that lie behind the exhibits to bring them alive.
Like many other Devonportians, Lester never tires of living on the Mersey River and watching ships glide into the working port.
''Many times I have been working at Round House Park [on Victoria Parade] and I have made some excuse to stay an extra 10 minutes so I can stop and watch a ship when it arrives," Lester says.
The reason Lester is so invested in his job harks back to where his career started.
He joined the council workforce from Reece High School at the tender age of 15.
''Working for the council in some ways is a bit like working for a service club - you are doing work for the good of the city, only you get paid for it," he says.
Over his 38 years with the council, where he started as an apprentice carpenter and joiner, Lester has left his fingerprints on a lot of the city's landmark properties.
Some were more essential than others.
''I've lost track of how many toilet blocks we built - but there's been a few," he laughs.
His father, Aubrey, was a carpenter on the council building maintenance gang for 19 years and Lester worked with him for 13 of those years.
Lester's first day on the job in 1975 took him to Tiagarra at Mersey Bluff to help build the then-new Aboriginal museum.
He can recall the challenge of moulding steel fabric and rendering several coats over it to create the cave inside Tiagarra.
''We had a boss at the time, Ray Baker, who was really good at doing things that were out of the ordinary," Lester says.
These were simpler times with not as many regulations to satisfy.
''You just went and did the work and you didn't have to bother too much about all the stuff we bother about today," Lester says.
In his early days he also worked on the Eric Webster Grandstand at Devonport Oval and the grandstand at Girdlestone Park.
Lester helped to convert a church in Stewart Street from the town library into the Devonport Regional Art Gallery.
He also worked on Devonport's historic Prime Minister's residence Home Hill while Dame Enid Lyons was alive and she would bring them scones and tea.
He moved up ranks from apprentice to tradesman, then leading hand and was the supervisor of the building maintenance team at 29.
He was maintenance works manager until five years ago when he moved inside the council chambers to become the major projects manager, and was appointed to his current role three years ago.
''There's no question my practical skills would be more desirable than my office skills, that's always a challenge for me," Lester admits. ''We're so much more accountable now and we need to provide so much more to ratepayers.
''Back in my early days a handwritten memo would come up from the bottom office at lunch time and if I could respond to it, it would go back down to the office by tomorrow lunchtime in the mail - and if something came out of that it would be another day before it got back to me.
''Now all that happens within seconds on email or text."
When Lester spoke at the retirement of his boss Mr Baker in 1988 he told him he could be proud to drive anywhere around the city and see things he'd been directly involved with.
''I reckon that's become one of the greatest rewards for me too," Lester says.
Asked what had been his favourite landmark to work on he doesn't have to look any further than where he stands inside the Bass Strait Maritime Centre's stunning nautical compass rose, a magnificent floor artwork.
''This new centre has been extremely rewarding and it has been a hell of a long process," he says.
''There have been lots of holdups and disagreements to get here - and we did question at one point if we were ever going to get here when the neighbours over the road were pretty concerned about the building.
''But we worked it out.
''The reason that opening day was a lovely day for the team that has worked tirelessly on this place is that it didn't signify the end of the project, it signified the start of what we are going to be doing.
''Over the next two or three months we will launch some more things and hopefully it will go on forever.
''Most maritime museums were started by volunteers and we were so fortunate to have had 30 years where the volunteers were the ones doing this enormous undertaking with very limited assistance from authorities to do what they did.
''We can thank them for what they did and for coming to the council with their concerns that they were getting older and could not do it anymore and we could lose what we had."
For the council it was good timing with the Julie Burgess ketch restoration project underway and $400,000 set aside for an interpretation centre that was initially going to the eastern shore.
The council decided there was more chance of success if there was not a duplication of facilities and combined the two in one.
As there were no funds to relocate the maritime museum it was redeveloped where it was with the Julie Burgess interpretation centre.
Today as Lester speaks, a tour group of 18 people is due to have a picnic lunch before sailing on the ''JB" and visiting the Bass Strait Maritime Centre for their ticket price.
The Julie Burgess allows people to experience the story of a Bass Strait fishing ketch that is told at the centre and then they can sail in it and get a view of Devonport from the sea.
As Devonport author Chris Binks writes in his booklet on the JB: ''her story begins with her construction and launching in 1936 and beyond her story she represents a tradition of small sailing vessels on the North- West Coast that goes back to the 1820s, and to those earliest settlements which those tiny vessels helped to keep alive".
Lester says what makes the Bass Strait Maritime Centre unique is to be able to learn about the impact Bass Strait has on Devonport, it's people and maritime history.
''If you want to learn the incredible, thrilling story of Bass Strait and what went on in the strait over the years, this is the only place," he said.
''The story has not been told anywhere else.
''When we see ships come up this river they have come across an ocean and sneak up this little creek at the end of it so that we can almost stand on the foreshore, reach out and touch them.
''For us we never tire of that."
________________________________________________________________________
27 April 2013
Salt of the - earth bring - sea to life - at centre
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.D02
HIRSUTE Lester Jackson may look a little bit like an old salt.
But before he jumped in the deep end he was pretty far removed from what you would call a maritime buff.
However, the Devonport City Council community partnerships manager was a man who loved his job.
He has been known to eat and sleep it.
So when he was given the responsibility to drive the new Bass Strait Maritime Centre project, he was soon hooked on how it could tell the story of Devonport and Bass Strait as it has never been told before.
Perhaps it was an advantage for him not to be a sailor as he set about creating a centre that would appeal to a wider audience and have something for everyone - including the ability to climb aboard and take the helm of a 1910 steamer, the SS Woniora, an impressive purpose-built ship simulator, and navigate her up a virtual Mersey River to dock.
Or just to be sitting on the glorious alfresco deck of the Bass Strait Diner, run as a not- for-profit enterprise by Devonfield Enterprises, where you overlook the parkland to the mouth of the actual Mersey River.
Lester, his boss DCC deputy general manager of community Evonne Ewins, and a dedicated crew of salt of the earth volunteers, have put in the hard yards and lived the challenge of building the centre for three years.
Sometimes a cold sweat and fear crept in that it would not happen in the time they had to get it open to satisfy deadlines and meet some exceedingly high community expectations.
When you are doing the work of a council, be it digging a ditch or building a museum, there are thousands of critics called ratepayers who have ownership of the project.
Attending the opening of the new $4-million centre a few weeks ago in front of 250 invited guests, a wave of emotion and relief swept over Lester as he could see where all the combined effort had paid off in bucketloads.
The Bass Strait Maritime Centre in itself is a beautiful building to visit.
It brings in the new and honours the old, which is the former harbour master's residence in Gloucester Avenue.
The Devonport Maritime Museum was first opened in an old house at East Devonport in 1973, until the harbour master's property became available in 1981 and the museum was relocated.
The new Bass Strait Maritime Centre celebrates its origins in the activities of two societies: the Devon Historical Society and the Devonport Maritime Museum Society.
With their amalgamation in 1999, a significant collection was created and maintained by a passionate if small group of volunteers up until this point.
A room will open in May that will tell the story of the development of the port city of Devonport and it is being created by the volunteers.
Where there were once a few visitors a week to the old maritime museum, there have been hundreds of people file through the doors at the new centre since it opened and they have responded positively.
On the day 'Scape visited, the centre was humming as four knowledgeable volunteer guides escorted visitors and were telling the compelling stories that lie behind the exhibits to bring them alive.
Like many other Devonportians, Lester never tires of living on the Mersey River and watching ships glide into the working port.
''Many times I have been working at Round House Park [on Victoria Parade] and I have made some excuse to stay an extra 10 minutes so I can stop and watch a ship when it arrives," Lester says.
The reason Lester is so invested in his job harks back to where his career started.
He joined the council workforce from Reece High School at the tender age of 15.
''Working for the council in some ways is a bit like working for a service club - you are doing work for the good of the city, only you get paid for it," he says.
Over his 38 years with the council, where he started as an apprentice carpenter and joiner, Lester has left his fingerprints on a lot of the city's landmark properties.
Some were more essential than others.
''I've lost track of how many toilet blocks we built - but there's been a few," he laughs.
His father, Aubrey, was a carpenter on the council building maintenance gang for 19 years and Lester worked with him for 13 of those years.
Lester's first day on the job in 1975 took him to Tiagarra at Mersey Bluff to help build the then-new Aboriginal museum.
He can recall the challenge of moulding steel fabric and rendering several coats over it to create the cave inside Tiagarra.
''We had a boss at the time, Ray Baker, who was really good at doing things that were out of the ordinary," Lester says.
These were simpler times with not as many regulations to satisfy.
''You just went and did the work and you didn't have to bother too much about all the stuff we bother about today," Lester says.
In his early days he also worked on the Eric Webster Grandstand at Devonport Oval and the grandstand at Girdlestone Park.
Lester helped to convert a church in Stewart Street from the town library into the Devonport Regional Art Gallery.
He also worked on Devonport's historic Prime Minister's residence Home Hill while Dame Enid Lyons was alive and she would bring them scones and tea.
He moved up ranks from apprentice to tradesman, then leading hand and was the supervisor of the building maintenance team at 29.
He was maintenance works manager until five years ago when he moved inside the council chambers to become the major projects manager, and was appointed to his current role three years ago.
''There's no question my practical skills would be more desirable than my office skills, that's always a challenge for me," Lester admits. ''We're so much more accountable now and we need to provide so much more to ratepayers.
''Back in my early days a handwritten memo would come up from the bottom office at lunch time and if I could respond to it, it would go back down to the office by tomorrow lunchtime in the mail - and if something came out of that it would be another day before it got back to me.
''Now all that happens within seconds on email or text."
When Lester spoke at the retirement of his boss Mr Baker in 1988 he told him he could be proud to drive anywhere around the city and see things he'd been directly involved with.
''I reckon that's become one of the greatest rewards for me too," Lester says.
Asked what had been his favourite landmark to work on he doesn't have to look any further than where he stands inside the Bass Strait Maritime Centre's stunning nautical compass rose, a magnificent floor artwork.
''This new centre has been extremely rewarding and it has been a hell of a long process," he says.
''There have been lots of holdups and disagreements to get here - and we did question at one point if we were ever going to get here when the neighbours over the road were pretty concerned about the building.
''But we worked it out.
''The reason that opening day was a lovely day for the team that has worked tirelessly on this place is that it didn't signify the end of the project, it signified the start of what we are going to be doing.
''Over the next two or three months we will launch some more things and hopefully it will go on forever.
''Most maritime museums were started by volunteers and we were so fortunate to have had 30 years where the volunteers were the ones doing this enormous undertaking with very limited assistance from authorities to do what they did.
''We can thank them for what they did and for coming to the council with their concerns that they were getting older and could not do it anymore and we could lose what we had."
For the council it was good timing with the Julie Burgess ketch restoration project underway and $400,000 set aside for an interpretation centre that was initially going to the eastern shore.
The council decided there was more chance of success if there was not a duplication of facilities and combined the two in one.
As there were no funds to relocate the maritime museum it was redeveloped where it was with the Julie Burgess interpretation centre.
Today as Lester speaks, a tour group of 18 people is due to have a picnic lunch before sailing on the ''JB" and visiting the Bass Strait Maritime Centre for their ticket price.
The Julie Burgess allows people to experience the story of a Bass Strait fishing ketch that is told at the centre and then they can sail in it and get a view of Devonport from the sea.
As Devonport author Chris Binks writes in his booklet on the JB: ''her story begins with her construction and launching in 1936 and beyond her story she represents a tradition of small sailing vessels on the North- West Coast that goes back to the 1820s, and to those earliest settlements which those tiny vessels helped to keep alive".
Lester says what makes the Bass Strait Maritime Centre unique is to be able to learn about the impact Bass Strait has on Devonport, it's people and maritime history.
''If you want to learn the incredible, thrilling story of Bass Strait and what went on in the strait over the years, this is the only place," he said.
''The story has not been told anywhere else.
''When we see ships come up this river they have come across an ocean and sneak up this little creek at the end of it so that we can almost stand on the foreshore, reach out and touch them.
''For us we never tire of that."
________________________________________________________________________
16 April 2013
Centre future on hold
Advocate
LIBBY BINGHAM
p.2
A DECISION on the future and possible redevelopment of Devonport tourist attraction, Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre, which has been closed for months over the peak tourist season, has been deferred by the Devonport City Council.
The council, which owns and maintains the building, voted last night for all issues related to Tiagarra to be discussed behind doors at a council workshop before the matter goes to a future council meeting.
Tiagarra is managed by the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation.
Last night the corporation was seeking a commitment and in- principle support from the council to keep working with it in relation to the redevelopment of Tiagarra.
The corporation also wants to bring in more people from other areas of the state to make Tiagarra what it could become.
A report to the council said stakeholders and funding bodies identified that to redevelop Tiagarra it would cost about $300,000 and require a high level of collaboration and focus on developing a plan for the upgrade and enhancement of the 35-year- old displays and museum.
Since Tiagarra and the corporation were placed under voluntary review last year, Tiagarra has been largely closed to the public, except by appointment for school and tour groups.
The review came after the registrar of Indigenous Corporations appointed special administrators at Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation on receiving a request from the former directors.
A new corporation board and general manager have been appointed to take over again.
The old business model at Tiagarra is seen as flawed and not sustainable, particularly during winter months, and as a tourism venture Tiagarra has failed to deliver a commercial return for many years.
However, Tiagarra has continued to attract a growing level of interest from school groups wanting to visit the centre.
It is seen as an asset of significance on the Devonport City Council tourist trail and is considered important and unique, in Tasmania particularly, as a museum and a celebration of Aboriginal culture and history.
Tiagarra was built on Crown land which is leased by the council and sublet to the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation. In 2010, the council signed a partnership agreement with the corporation to work together on Tiagarra.
________________________________________________________________________
15 April 2013
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http://www.devonport.tas.gov.au/clients/dcc/downloads/supplementary_late_agenda_-_council_meeting_-_15_april_2013.pdf
________________________________________________________________________
24 Jan 2013
Aboriginal site threat
ADVOCATE
Libby Bingham
THE future of Devonport tourist attraction Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre at Mersey Bluff will be discussed next week.
The Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation has called a meeting with the Devonport City Council for Thursday.
Since Tiagarra and SRAC were placed under voluntary review last year, Tiagarra has been closed to the public, and opened only by appointment.
The review came after the registrar of Indigenous Corporations appointed special administrators at SRAC in July last year after receiving a request from the former directors.
Danny and Natasha Keep, of Hobart-based firm Business of Community Pty Ltd, were sent in to take over for a period of months.
Mr Keep said the new SRAC board and general manager were appointed at the end of the year to take over again.
Mr Keep said it was clear the business model at Tiagarra had been flawed for a long time and was not sustainable, particularly during winter months.
He said as a tourism venture, Tiagarra had failed to deliver a commercial return for many years.
He said the future for Tiagarra may lie more with harnessing the growing interest from school groups as well as being part of the Devonport City Council tourist trail.
``Tiagarra is incredibly important and unique, in Tasmania particularly, as a celebration of Aboriginal culture and history, not just as a museum,'' Mr Keep said.
He said Aboriginal studies now formed part of the secondary school curriculum and there was an opportunity to build partnerships with education institutions and other stakeholders to establish Tiagarra as a local centre for Aboriginal culture.
New SRAC general manager Michelle Pearce said the aim was to work with the council regarding Tiagarra.
``It is absolutely significant to the local Aboriginal community and the Tasmanian community,'' she said.
Devonport City Council acting general manager Evonne Ewins said the council was keen to meet over Tiagarra's future.
Tiagarra is on Crown land, which is leased by the council and sublet to SRAC.
Mrs Ewins said the council maintained the building.
Three years ago, due to an $80,000 loss, Tiagarra was temporarily closed with the then Mersey Leven Aboriginal Corporation (now SRAC) citing a major review of operations as the reason.
When Tiagarra reopened, $40,000 in state government funding was used to restock the centre and undertake renovations.
A $4000 federal heritage grant paid for a consultant to assess the Tiagarra collection.
Mrs Ewins said the council had been meeting SRAC through the Tiagarra special committee because it was ``very interested'' in Tiagarra's future.
In 2010 the council signed a partnership agreement with SRAC to work together on Tiagarra.
Mrs Ewins said the council received feedback about Tiagarra being closed over the summer from tourists who were interested in visiting Aboriginal sites.
24 Jan 2013
Aboriginal site threat
ADVOCATE
Libby Bingham
THE future of Devonport tourist attraction Tiagarra Museum and Cultural Centre at Mersey Bluff will be discussed next week.
The Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation has called a meeting with the Devonport City Council for Thursday.
Since Tiagarra and SRAC were placed under voluntary review last year, Tiagarra has been closed to the public, and opened only by appointment.
The review came after the registrar of Indigenous Corporations appointed special administrators at SRAC in July last year after receiving a request from the former directors.
Danny and Natasha Keep, of Hobart-based firm Business of Community Pty Ltd, were sent in to take over for a period of months.
Mr Keep said the new SRAC board and general manager were appointed at the end of the year to take over again.
Mr Keep said it was clear the business model at Tiagarra had been flawed for a long time and was not sustainable, particularly during winter months.
He said as a tourism venture, Tiagarra had failed to deliver a commercial return for many years.
He said the future for Tiagarra may lie more with harnessing the growing interest from school groups as well as being part of the Devonport City Council tourist trail.
``Tiagarra is incredibly important and unique, in Tasmania particularly, as a celebration of Aboriginal culture and history, not just as a museum,'' Mr Keep said.
He said Aboriginal studies now formed part of the secondary school curriculum and there was an opportunity to build partnerships with education institutions and other stakeholders to establish Tiagarra as a local centre for Aboriginal culture.
New SRAC general manager Michelle Pearce said the aim was to work with the council regarding Tiagarra.
``It is absolutely significant to the local Aboriginal community and the Tasmanian community,'' she said.
Devonport City Council acting general manager Evonne Ewins said the council was keen to meet over Tiagarra's future.
Tiagarra is on Crown land, which is leased by the council and sublet to SRAC.
Mrs Ewins said the council maintained the building.
Three years ago, due to an $80,000 loss, Tiagarra was temporarily closed with the then Mersey Leven Aboriginal Corporation (now SRAC) citing a major review of operations as the reason.
When Tiagarra reopened, $40,000 in state government funding was used to restock the centre and undertake renovations.
A $4000 federal heritage grant paid for a consultant to assess the Tiagarra collection.
Mrs Ewins said the council had been meeting SRAC through the Tiagarra special committee because it was ``very interested'' in Tiagarra's future.
In 2010 the council signed a partnership agreement with SRAC to work together on Tiagarra.
Mrs Ewins said the council received feedback about Tiagarra being closed over the summer from tourists who were interested in visiting Aboriginal sites.
________________________________________________________________________
24 Jan 2013
Embark on - cultural tour
Advocate
KYE WHITE
p.2
KAREN Smart is hoping to give individuals the chance to taste some real bush tucker this Sunday.
Ms Smart is taking a walking tour, as part of the Devonport Regional Art Gallery's Tidal.12 exhibition, through the Mersey Bluff looking at the cultural and natural history of the area.
''It will be a walk around the bluff area, up around Tiagarra, and I'll be showing people the bush food up there," Ms Smart said.
''I'm hoping that there will be (food around), because it is the season for a particular food that is up there, so I'm hoping that there is still some around.
''So hopefully they can have a feed as we go around."
The walking tour is an opportunity for both visitors and locals to learn more about bush tucker, local weaving grasses, and the Aboriginal history of the area and connect with the beautiful surrounds of the Mersey Bluff.
Suitable for all ages, Ms Smart encourages those who go along to take a sketchbook and pencils to make some quick drawings and notes.
The tour gets under way at 10am on Sunday at the sound shell. Cost is $5 for individuals and $10 for families. It finishes with a morning tea at noon at the Bluff, which will mark the conclusion of the Tidal.12 exhibition and public programs for 2012-13.
________________________________________________________________________
24 Jan 2013
Embark on - cultural tour
Advocate
KYE WHITE
p.2
KAREN Smart is hoping to give individuals the chance to taste some real bush tucker this Sunday.
Ms Smart is taking a walking tour, as part of the Devonport Regional Art Gallery's Tidal.12 exhibition, through the Mersey Bluff looking at the cultural and natural history of the area.
''It will be a walk around the bluff area, up around Tiagarra, and I'll be showing people the bush food up there," Ms Smart said.
''I'm hoping that there will be (food around), because it is the season for a particular food that is up there, so I'm hoping that there is still some around.
''So hopefully they can have a feed as we go around."
The walking tour is an opportunity for both visitors and locals to learn more about bush tucker, local weaving grasses, and the Aboriginal history of the area and connect with the beautiful surrounds of the Mersey Bluff.
Suitable for all ages, Ms Smart encourages those who go along to take a sketchbook and pencils to make some quick drawings and notes.
The tour gets under way at 10am on Sunday at the sound shell. Cost is $5 for individuals and $10 for families. It finishes with a morning tea at noon at the Bluff, which will mark the conclusion of the Tidal.12 exhibition and public programs for 2012-13.
________________________________________________________________________
2012
________________________________________________________________________
31 Oct 2012
Tasmanian TREASURES OUR PRIZED COLLECTIONS
Mercury
Sue Atkinson, Roberta Poynter
p.26
TASMANIA boasts many collections of national and international significance, including the state collection held at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery; the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery; the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) and the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office.
Away from the larger centres, throughout Tasmania there are to be found hidden treasures in history rooms, cottages and heritage-listed buildings, farm outbuildings, scientific establishments, schools and private homes. These are curated by both professionals and volunteers, who work tirelessly to ensure the survival of Tasmania"s physical and cultural heritage and to interpret them for the wider community.
Some are rare and eclectic, ranging from sporting collections, machinery, industrial sites and chocolate, to military and maritime memorabilia, books, photographs, documents, paintings, costumes and textiles. They all have a story to tell and provide an invaluable resource for students to develop skills in the interpretation of the past and how it influences the present, to analyse and interpret sources and, with an inquiry-based approach, reflect and communicate ideas.
Home Hill, Devonport
HOME Hill is a fascinating property which offers a glimpse into the lives of two extraordinary Australians Joseph and Enid Lyons and their family of 12 children. Home Hill is a tangible reminder of the wonderful family and political partnership shared by Joe (the first Tasmanian- born prime minister) and Dame Enid (the first woman elected to the House of Representatives) which is unmatched in Australian political life. It was, except from a few brief periods, their family home for their entire lives and where they found refuge from public life and kept their sense of the importance of home and family for all Australians.
Things to explore:
Discover the stories of your family history through photographs. Set up a classroom exhibition (use copies not originals) Find out more about the Lyons family and compare the differences family structures today
St Helens History Room
AT the St Helens History Room, there are more than 1000 artefacts on display. These are presented thematically to represent the various stages of settlement of St Helens and the North East. A highlight is the interactive model of the Anchor Mine Water Wheel, said to have been the largest water wheel in the southern hemisphere in 1898. The amazing stories of Chinese tin miners and how the environment was changed and technology shaped the lives of the community is explored in the Trail of the Tin Dragon.
Things to explore:
Use Google Earth to plot the tin mining areas on the Blue Tier Compare the links with China and mining in Australia today Bass and Flinders Centre
THE Bass and Flinders museum is housed in an old cinema in George Town and displays many artefacts relating to the maritime history of Tasmania. There are replicas of Elizabeth, the whale boat Captain John Kelly sailed round Van Diemen"s Land in 1815 and the Norfolk, used by Bass and Flinders to circumnavigate VDL in 1798-99 to prove the existence of Bass Strait.
Things to explore:
Write a journal of events that may have occurred on a journey of discovery around Van Diemen"s Land Collect information about early maps and interpret them
Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum
TIAGARRA is an interpretation centre for the history and present day cultures of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. Situated on the Mersey Bluff at Devonport, there are several rock engraving sites on a nearby trail.
Things to explore:
Discuss the importance of place and country for Aboriginal people Listen to stories told by an Aboriginal Elder
The Australian Army Museum
THE Australian Army Museum Tasmania is located at Anglesea Barracks, Hobart, and is housed in the former military prison built in 1847. The Barracks is a unique heritage precinct, with some of its buildings dating back to 1814. It is on the Commonwealth Heritage List as well as on the State Heritage Register. It is arguably one of the most historically significant heritage precincts in Tasmania, housing one of the finest colonial collections of militaria in the country.
Things to explore:
Research the roles in which the military were involved in the development of colonial settlements Invite a veteran of an armed conflict to tell their story
Woodsdale Museum
SHEEP shearing interpretation, farm and community sheds and the school room, set up in the period of the late 1800s provide a unique interactive experience. Located in the Midlands between Oatlands and Runnymede, the collections showcase farming traditions and a step back in time.
Things to explore:
Compare the differences between a school room 150 years ago with one of today Write and perform a play about life on a farm in rural Tasmania in the 19th century. Websites to explore:
http://tasmanianhistorygroups.edublogs.org/ http://eheritage.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/
www.thra.org.au
http://www.linc.tas.gov.au/tasmaniasheritage
________________________________________________________________________
31 Oct 2012
Tasmanian TREASURES OUR PRIZED COLLECTIONS
Mercury
Sue Atkinson, Roberta Poynter
p.26
TASMANIA boasts many collections of national and international significance, including the state collection held at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery; the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery; the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) and the Tasmanian Archives and Heritage Office.
Away from the larger centres, throughout Tasmania there are to be found hidden treasures in history rooms, cottages and heritage-listed buildings, farm outbuildings, scientific establishments, schools and private homes. These are curated by both professionals and volunteers, who work tirelessly to ensure the survival of Tasmania"s physical and cultural heritage and to interpret them for the wider community.
Some are rare and eclectic, ranging from sporting collections, machinery, industrial sites and chocolate, to military and maritime memorabilia, books, photographs, documents, paintings, costumes and textiles. They all have a story to tell and provide an invaluable resource for students to develop skills in the interpretation of the past and how it influences the present, to analyse and interpret sources and, with an inquiry-based approach, reflect and communicate ideas.
Home Hill, Devonport
HOME Hill is a fascinating property which offers a glimpse into the lives of two extraordinary Australians Joseph and Enid Lyons and their family of 12 children. Home Hill is a tangible reminder of the wonderful family and political partnership shared by Joe (the first Tasmanian- born prime minister) and Dame Enid (the first woman elected to the House of Representatives) which is unmatched in Australian political life. It was, except from a few brief periods, their family home for their entire lives and where they found refuge from public life and kept their sense of the importance of home and family for all Australians.
Things to explore:
Discover the stories of your family history through photographs. Set up a classroom exhibition (use copies not originals) Find out more about the Lyons family and compare the differences family structures today
St Helens History Room
AT the St Helens History Room, there are more than 1000 artefacts on display. These are presented thematically to represent the various stages of settlement of St Helens and the North East. A highlight is the interactive model of the Anchor Mine Water Wheel, said to have been the largest water wheel in the southern hemisphere in 1898. The amazing stories of Chinese tin miners and how the environment was changed and technology shaped the lives of the community is explored in the Trail of the Tin Dragon.
Things to explore:
Use Google Earth to plot the tin mining areas on the Blue Tier Compare the links with China and mining in Australia today Bass and Flinders Centre
THE Bass and Flinders museum is housed in an old cinema in George Town and displays many artefacts relating to the maritime history of Tasmania. There are replicas of Elizabeth, the whale boat Captain John Kelly sailed round Van Diemen"s Land in 1815 and the Norfolk, used by Bass and Flinders to circumnavigate VDL in 1798-99 to prove the existence of Bass Strait.
Things to explore:
Write a journal of events that may have occurred on a journey of discovery around Van Diemen"s Land Collect information about early maps and interpret them
Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum
TIAGARRA is an interpretation centre for the history and present day cultures of the Aboriginal people of Tasmania. Situated on the Mersey Bluff at Devonport, there are several rock engraving sites on a nearby trail.
Things to explore:
Discuss the importance of place and country for Aboriginal people Listen to stories told by an Aboriginal Elder
The Australian Army Museum
THE Australian Army Museum Tasmania is located at Anglesea Barracks, Hobart, and is housed in the former military prison built in 1847. The Barracks is a unique heritage precinct, with some of its buildings dating back to 1814. It is on the Commonwealth Heritage List as well as on the State Heritage Register. It is arguably one of the most historically significant heritage precincts in Tasmania, housing one of the finest colonial collections of militaria in the country.
Things to explore:
Research the roles in which the military were involved in the development of colonial settlements Invite a veteran of an armed conflict to tell their story
Woodsdale Museum
SHEEP shearing interpretation, farm and community sheds and the school room, set up in the period of the late 1800s provide a unique interactive experience. Located in the Midlands between Oatlands and Runnymede, the collections showcase farming traditions and a step back in time.
Things to explore:
Compare the differences between a school room 150 years ago with one of today Write and perform a play about life on a farm in rural Tasmania in the 19th century. Websites to explore:
http://tasmanianhistorygroups.edublogs.org/ http://eheritage.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/
www.thra.org.au
http://www.linc.tas.gov.au/tasmaniasheritage
________________________________________________________________________
21 Sept 2012
Ancient footsteps
Mercury
Greg Lehman
p. C13
Aboriginal academic Greg Lehman draws back the veil on Tasmania"s secret heritage
TO LIVE in Tasmania is to exist in the eye of a quiet, relentless storm. Famed for its vast wilderness reserves, placid lakes and tranquil forests, in recent years Tasmania has become an internationally recognised tourist destination and a tree-change" refuge for Australians seeking an escape from the clutter of urban life. Yet, despite the cleanest of air, our gourmet produce and a thriving culture of literary and visual arts, Tasmania harbours a dark and threatening secret.
From its meagre beginnings in 1803, the colony of Van Diemens Land seemed destined to become a jewel in the colonial crown of Britain. Seal skins were exported for leather, felt and fur. Then, following the collapse of seal populations, whale oil became a number one export lighting the streets of London, and lubricating the machinery of the industrial revolution.
Hobart Town quickly became one of the most important British ports in the South Pacific, with a surprisingly cosmopolitan population drawn from almost every continent.
The quality of life that we now enjoy in Tasmania owes its beginnings to these early days. But, just out of sight of the tourists, beyond the day-to-day thoughts of its residents; the island continues to harbour a dark and unresolved history that comes to haunt all who linger here.
The decimation of our seal and whales species has been rejected for decades as an unacceptable economic activity. Following years of tortuous politics and economic folly, we have now come to the same understanding about the clear felling of our forests. Such destructive exploitation has been common across the globe and we do not stand alone in sharing this shame. But there is one task to which the colony dedicated itself that makes us more unique - and the results of this deadly quest continues to haunt the very landscape that surrounds us.
It was within a year of the first European settlement that the colony of Van Diemens Land took its first confused steps towards a conflict with the Tasmanian Aboriginal nations that soon descended into wholesale extermination. The Black War was begun when Governor Arthur declared Martial Law in 1828 "against all the black or aboriginal Natives within every part of this island". George Arthur called for Aborigines to be expelled by force" from the settled districts by "whatever means a severe and inevitable necessity may dictate".
Such was the desire in Tasmania for Aborigines to be gone, that Truganini was enthusiastically declared to be the last of her people, despite numerous of her kin and their children continuing to survive and assert their rights.
For most, this is a terrible and unimaginable period of our history. It is a subject that few Tasmanians today can willingly discuss. But for those of us who are descended from the survivors of this attempted genocide, it is an intrinsic part of our heritage. Indeed, it is an unavoidable element of the heritage of all Tasmanians.
Surrounded by such a horrendous past, what can we do? Attempts to ignore or deny our history have all failed. The world does not forget great injustices. Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish scholar who first coined the term `genocide" in 1943, referred to Tasmania as a textbook example.
But the answer might not be as difficult as we imagine. We need only to look to the most infamous perpetrator of modern genocide to see the answers. Germany has, since the Nuremburg Trials in 1946, committed itself to owning" its past. With no option of trying to ignore the consequences of Hitler"s policies, it has embraced its responsibilities for reparation and remembrance. Holocaust museums and places of remembrance have become powerful sites of healing and redemption for today"s German people, as well as millions of tourists who come to share the sorrow of man"s inhumanity to man.
Tasmania has its equivalent places. Wybalenna and Oyster Cove were internment camps, where Aboriginal Tasmanians were banished and left to die. Risdon Cove was the site of Tasmania"s first Aboriginal massacre. While these have been returned to the Aboriginal community through land rights legislation, there has been no support from either private or public sources to establish the heritage centres and keeping places that the community has wanted for so long.
These are needed not just by Aborigines, but by the whole Tasmanian community. They provide the opportunity for practical reconciliation. The wonderful contribution of Hobart"s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston and the small but important Tiagarra Cultural Centre and Museum in Devonport are not enough. Living cultures also exist outside of museum walls.
Aboriginal heritage must not be limited to places of suffering and sadness. As Aboriginal Heritage Officer Daryl West once said to me: "This whole island is an Aboriginal site!" Nowhere in Tasmania is far from material reminders of this land"s 40,000 years of human history. Stone tools can be found almost everywhere. The community"s cultural custodians continue to gather their materials for the traditional practices of shell necklace and basket making.
Tasmania"s shell middens and rock art are widely respected as amongst the oldest in the world. And the results of Aboriginal fire management can be seen throughout our dry forests and grasslands. Yet these are threatened every day by changing land use, careless development, vandalism and theft. The law currently offers minimal protection to these unique cultural places. Of immense importance to Tasmanian Aboriginal people, they are also priceless educational resources for future generations of Tasmanians to be able to understand the incredible cultural heritage of an island that has much more than just a convict past.
Each of these examples of Tasmania"s Aboriginal heritage offer us all an opportunity to share in Tasmania"s deep and rich human history, and to acknowledge and engage with the events of the past that continue to influence all of our lives today. Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania remains an untapped resource for the social and cultural development of the state. Its huge economic potential has yet to be fully realised.
As you read this, the Tasmanian Government is developing new heritage legislation to replace the outmoded Aboriginal Relics Act of 1976. We must all hope that the urgent and profound need for healing on this island will motivate Cabinet to show leadership and vision in the way that Tasmania"s Aboriginal heritage is embraced. Tasmanians have lived under a cloud for far too long. Brave action is required to own our past and face our future together.
FACE THE FACTS
REALITY
Aboriginal culture and heritage is vastly undervalued. Many Tasmanians are yet to come to terms with the violent history of the state. HERITAGE
Tasmania"s landscape is loaded with ancient heritage. Tasmanian Aboriginal culture is unique in the world.
________________________________________________________________________
Ancient footsteps
Mercury
Greg Lehman
p. C13
Aboriginal academic Greg Lehman draws back the veil on Tasmania"s secret heritage
TO LIVE in Tasmania is to exist in the eye of a quiet, relentless storm. Famed for its vast wilderness reserves, placid lakes and tranquil forests, in recent years Tasmania has become an internationally recognised tourist destination and a tree-change" refuge for Australians seeking an escape from the clutter of urban life. Yet, despite the cleanest of air, our gourmet produce and a thriving culture of literary and visual arts, Tasmania harbours a dark and threatening secret.
From its meagre beginnings in 1803, the colony of Van Diemens Land seemed destined to become a jewel in the colonial crown of Britain. Seal skins were exported for leather, felt and fur. Then, following the collapse of seal populations, whale oil became a number one export lighting the streets of London, and lubricating the machinery of the industrial revolution.
Hobart Town quickly became one of the most important British ports in the South Pacific, with a surprisingly cosmopolitan population drawn from almost every continent.
The quality of life that we now enjoy in Tasmania owes its beginnings to these early days. But, just out of sight of the tourists, beyond the day-to-day thoughts of its residents; the island continues to harbour a dark and unresolved history that comes to haunt all who linger here.
The decimation of our seal and whales species has been rejected for decades as an unacceptable economic activity. Following years of tortuous politics and economic folly, we have now come to the same understanding about the clear felling of our forests. Such destructive exploitation has been common across the globe and we do not stand alone in sharing this shame. But there is one task to which the colony dedicated itself that makes us more unique - and the results of this deadly quest continues to haunt the very landscape that surrounds us.
It was within a year of the first European settlement that the colony of Van Diemens Land took its first confused steps towards a conflict with the Tasmanian Aboriginal nations that soon descended into wholesale extermination. The Black War was begun when Governor Arthur declared Martial Law in 1828 "against all the black or aboriginal Natives within every part of this island". George Arthur called for Aborigines to be expelled by force" from the settled districts by "whatever means a severe and inevitable necessity may dictate".
Such was the desire in Tasmania for Aborigines to be gone, that Truganini was enthusiastically declared to be the last of her people, despite numerous of her kin and their children continuing to survive and assert their rights.
For most, this is a terrible and unimaginable period of our history. It is a subject that few Tasmanians today can willingly discuss. But for those of us who are descended from the survivors of this attempted genocide, it is an intrinsic part of our heritage. Indeed, it is an unavoidable element of the heritage of all Tasmanians.
Surrounded by such a horrendous past, what can we do? Attempts to ignore or deny our history have all failed. The world does not forget great injustices. Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish scholar who first coined the term `genocide" in 1943, referred to Tasmania as a textbook example.
But the answer might not be as difficult as we imagine. We need only to look to the most infamous perpetrator of modern genocide to see the answers. Germany has, since the Nuremburg Trials in 1946, committed itself to owning" its past. With no option of trying to ignore the consequences of Hitler"s policies, it has embraced its responsibilities for reparation and remembrance. Holocaust museums and places of remembrance have become powerful sites of healing and redemption for today"s German people, as well as millions of tourists who come to share the sorrow of man"s inhumanity to man.
Tasmania has its equivalent places. Wybalenna and Oyster Cove were internment camps, where Aboriginal Tasmanians were banished and left to die. Risdon Cove was the site of Tasmania"s first Aboriginal massacre. While these have been returned to the Aboriginal community through land rights legislation, there has been no support from either private or public sources to establish the heritage centres and keeping places that the community has wanted for so long.
These are needed not just by Aborigines, but by the whole Tasmanian community. They provide the opportunity for practical reconciliation. The wonderful contribution of Hobart"s Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston and the small but important Tiagarra Cultural Centre and Museum in Devonport are not enough. Living cultures also exist outside of museum walls.
Aboriginal heritage must not be limited to places of suffering and sadness. As Aboriginal Heritage Officer Daryl West once said to me: "This whole island is an Aboriginal site!" Nowhere in Tasmania is far from material reminders of this land"s 40,000 years of human history. Stone tools can be found almost everywhere. The community"s cultural custodians continue to gather their materials for the traditional practices of shell necklace and basket making.
Tasmania"s shell middens and rock art are widely respected as amongst the oldest in the world. And the results of Aboriginal fire management can be seen throughout our dry forests and grasslands. Yet these are threatened every day by changing land use, careless development, vandalism and theft. The law currently offers minimal protection to these unique cultural places. Of immense importance to Tasmanian Aboriginal people, they are also priceless educational resources for future generations of Tasmanians to be able to understand the incredible cultural heritage of an island that has much more than just a convict past.
Each of these examples of Tasmania"s Aboriginal heritage offer us all an opportunity to share in Tasmania"s deep and rich human history, and to acknowledge and engage with the events of the past that continue to influence all of our lives today. Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania remains an untapped resource for the social and cultural development of the state. Its huge economic potential has yet to be fully realised.
As you read this, the Tasmanian Government is developing new heritage legislation to replace the outmoded Aboriginal Relics Act of 1976. We must all hope that the urgent and profound need for healing on this island will motivate Cabinet to show leadership and vision in the way that Tasmania"s Aboriginal heritage is embraced. Tasmanians have lived under a cloud for far too long. Brave action is required to own our past and face our future together.
FACE THE FACTS
REALITY
Aboriginal culture and heritage is vastly undervalued. Many Tasmanians are yet to come to terms with the violent history of the state. HERITAGE
Tasmania"s landscape is loaded with ancient heritage. Tasmanian Aboriginal culture is unique in the world.
________________________________________________________________________
4 July 2012
________________________________________________________________________
3 July 2012
Kick some ideas around over footy debt
Advocate
JUDY HERBERT
p.D03
MY suggestion to wipe the debt owed to the council by the Devonport Football Club has ignited passionate debate.
I stress that the option is my personal view, not the preferred or desired outcome, and was designed to seek public debate - which it has done.
This issue needed leadership and an option put forward because negotiations over the past nine months about the debt, which is now 16 years old, failed to reach an outcome.
The time had come to bring the issue to a head.
We are working towards a satisfactory outcome and hopefully this will happen by the end of August.
Each year in July around Australia a greater understanding of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are highlighted in NAIDOC Week.
In Devonport on Sunday we saw a flag raising ceremony at the Bluff followed by the launch of Aunty Patsy Cameron's book Grease and Ochre.
This year also marks 50 years since Aboriginal people were given the right to vote and it's 36 years since Tiagarra was opened at the Bluff. The centre has been a strong collaboration between the Aboriginal community and the council - that relationship will continue to get stronger.
Soroptimist International of Devonport celebrated 60 years last weekend.
They have been a driving force behind a number of outstanding community projects but many in the public would not know of the Soroptimists' contribution.
It has been an incredible 60 years - thank you and congratulations!
A copy of the council's Annual Plan and Estimates is available at www.devonport.tas.gov.au/plans- reports Thank you.
________________________________________________________________________
3 July 2012
Kick some ideas around over footy debt
Advocate
JUDY HERBERT
p.D03
MY suggestion to wipe the debt owed to the council by the Devonport Football Club has ignited passionate debate.
I stress that the option is my personal view, not the preferred or desired outcome, and was designed to seek public debate - which it has done.
This issue needed leadership and an option put forward because negotiations over the past nine months about the debt, which is now 16 years old, failed to reach an outcome.
The time had come to bring the issue to a head.
We are working towards a satisfactory outcome and hopefully this will happen by the end of August.
Each year in July around Australia a greater understanding of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are highlighted in NAIDOC Week.
In Devonport on Sunday we saw a flag raising ceremony at the Bluff followed by the launch of Aunty Patsy Cameron's book Grease and Ochre.
This year also marks 50 years since Aboriginal people were given the right to vote and it's 36 years since Tiagarra was opened at the Bluff. The centre has been a strong collaboration between the Aboriginal community and the council - that relationship will continue to get stronger.
Soroptimist International of Devonport celebrated 60 years last weekend.
They have been a driving force behind a number of outstanding community projects but many in the public would not know of the Soroptimists' contribution.
It has been an incredible 60 years - thank you and congratulations!
A copy of the council's Annual Plan and Estimates is available at www.devonport.tas.gov.au/plans- reports Thank you.
________________________________________________________________________
2 July 2012
Bond in community, culture
Advocate
SONIA BYRNES
p.11
LIVING communally between cultures is the NAIDOC message, which was illustrated in Devonport yesterday.
Red, yellow and black balloons and streamers decorated the Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal museum and cultural centre, the didgeridoo sounded and the sausages sizzled as community, culture and country were celebrated.
A harmonious crowd gathered to mark the beginning of the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee annual week- long celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and contribution.
A flag-raising ceremony and address was given by Tiagarra co- ordinator David Gough on the bond in community and culture between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal people.
''This NAIDOC week is celebrating 40 years of the symbolic tent embassy, 50 years since the Aboriginal people have been able to vote and 36 years of Tiagarra being on the Bluff," he said.
Mr Gough said the diversity of the crowd was a sign relationships between the Aboriginal and non- aboriginal people were moving forward.
________________________________________________________________________
2012 NAIDOC at TIAGARRA
________________________________________________________________________
|
|
22 June 2012
You're invited - to celebrate
Advocate
SONIA BYRNES
p.12
You're invited - to celebrate
Advocate
SONIA BYRNES
p.12
22 June 2012
You're invited - to celebrate
Advocate
SONIA BYRNES
p.12
THE community will have the opportunity to come together and share in the Coast's rich Aboriginal culture and history when NAIDOC week celebrations are held in Devonport on Sunday.
NAIDOC celebrations are held around country in July each year and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The week will be marked with a flag- raising ceremony at Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum on Sunday morning and will be followed by a book launch and community barbecue.
Tiagarra centre coordinator Dave Gough said the day was about bringing together the community and sharing what the Aboriginal culture was all about.
''NAIDOC is a week of showing our culture and the bond between country and culture. Everyone can come together and attend, the more the merrier," he said.
Mr Gough said with students learning about Aboriginal culture in schools, relations between indigenous and non- indigenous Australians were good.
''There's a lot of history there, it didn't finish 200 years ago. We do practise culture with people teaching shell necklacing, basket making and traditional ways," he said.
Sunday will see the launch of Grease and Ochre: The Blending of Two Cultures at the Colonial Sea Frontier, a book by Aboriginal author and lecturer Patsy Cameron.
Mr Gough said the respected and well-known Aboriginal elder would travel from Launceston for the launch giving people the opportunity to meet with her and ask questions about the book and Aboriginal culture.
There will be a flag-raising ceremony at 10am and a book launch for Grease and Ochre at 11am at Tiagarra, at the Devonport Bluff on Sunday. Members of the community are invited to attend.
You're invited - to celebrate
Advocate
SONIA BYRNES
p.12
THE community will have the opportunity to come together and share in the Coast's rich Aboriginal culture and history when NAIDOC week celebrations are held in Devonport on Sunday.
NAIDOC celebrations are held around country in July each year and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The week will be marked with a flag- raising ceremony at Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum on Sunday morning and will be followed by a book launch and community barbecue.
Tiagarra centre coordinator Dave Gough said the day was about bringing together the community and sharing what the Aboriginal culture was all about.
''NAIDOC is a week of showing our culture and the bond between country and culture. Everyone can come together and attend, the more the merrier," he said.
Mr Gough said with students learning about Aboriginal culture in schools, relations between indigenous and non- indigenous Australians were good.
''There's a lot of history there, it didn't finish 200 years ago. We do practise culture with people teaching shell necklacing, basket making and traditional ways," he said.
Sunday will see the launch of Grease and Ochre: The Blending of Two Cultures at the Colonial Sea Frontier, a book by Aboriginal author and lecturer Patsy Cameron.
Mr Gough said the respected and well-known Aboriginal elder would travel from Launceston for the launch giving people the opportunity to meet with her and ask questions about the book and Aboriginal culture.
There will be a flag-raising ceremony at 10am and a book launch for Grease and Ochre at 11am at Tiagarra, at the Devonport Bluff on Sunday. Members of the community are invited to attend.
18 April 2012
Tiagarra student tour led by Daryl Medcraft
________________________________________________________________________
2011
________________________________________________________________________
22 Nov 2011
Latrobe, a place to call home
Advocate EISTEN JOYEUX p.11
THE indigenous community now has its own place within the Latrobe municipality.
Yesterday the new Aboriginal Community Service Centre was opened in Latrobe, giving indigenous people what Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation general manager Alan Radford described as a ''place" and sense of belonging.
''For two years the community has been lost, and there was a need for services to be able to be delivered in culturally appropriate ways," he said.
The new centre will facilitate the delivery of a community aged care program, drug and alcohol services, and life skills development.
There will also be weekend activities offered to the indigenous and non-indigenous community teaching cultural practices, which can be used as a tourism development that links in with Devonport's Tiagarra.
The property has a central office with each of the directors rooms, a lounge space for the public and a health consultation room. There is also a large garden and paved outdoor area with utility spaces potentially for an artist in residence.
Mr Radford said the reason the corporation didn't buy land and build was because it was important the centre felt like a home. The centre was funded through a million pre-election promise grant from David Bartlett.
It is expected around 3500 people will use the services provided from the centre each year.
The Centre is located at 26 Gilbert St, Latrobe, open 8.30am-4.30pm and will also run some weekend activities.
________________________________________________________________________
22 Nov 2011
Latrobe, a place to call home
Advocate EISTEN JOYEUX p.11
THE indigenous community now has its own place within the Latrobe municipality.
Yesterday the new Aboriginal Community Service Centre was opened in Latrobe, giving indigenous people what Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation general manager Alan Radford described as a ''place" and sense of belonging.
''For two years the community has been lost, and there was a need for services to be able to be delivered in culturally appropriate ways," he said.
The new centre will facilitate the delivery of a community aged care program, drug and alcohol services, and life skills development.
There will also be weekend activities offered to the indigenous and non-indigenous community teaching cultural practices, which can be used as a tourism development that links in with Devonport's Tiagarra.
The property has a central office with each of the directors rooms, a lounge space for the public and a health consultation room. There is also a large garden and paved outdoor area with utility spaces potentially for an artist in residence.
Mr Radford said the reason the corporation didn't buy land and build was because it was important the centre felt like a home. The centre was funded through a million pre-election promise grant from David Bartlett.
It is expected around 3500 people will use the services provided from the centre each year.
The Centre is located at 26 Gilbert St, Latrobe, open 8.30am-4.30pm and will also run some weekend activities.
________________________________________________________________________
5 July 2011
NAIDOC Week off - to a flying start
Libby Bingham
Advocate
p.11
ABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander flags have been raised outside Tiagarra at the Bluff and the Burnie City Council to mark the start of NAIDOC Week.
As a special gesture to celebrate Indigenous culture the Tiagarra Museum in Devonport opened its doors free to the public yesterday. NAIDOC means National Aboriginal and Island Day Observance Committee.
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre state secretary Trudy Maluga said ''it is a celebration of the Aboriginal people's resilience against the odds, highlighting the living culture and history, and how our past shapes our identity".
Aboriginal elders in Devonport invited Mayor Lynn Laycock to speak at the Tiagarra flag raising attended by students from Reece High, Devonport Primary, Nixon Street Primary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Miandetta Primary and Hillcrest Primary.
Ald Laycock said it was important to highlight the history, culture and achievements of Australia's indigenous people past and present. The mayor said thankfully there had been a shift in our knowledge and understanding but she said we still had a distance to travel. The TAC said the importance of knowing one's past is the theme of this year's NAIDOC week celebrations.
TAC called for open access to Aboriginal land and the establishment of a cultural fund to buy items of Aboriginal heritage still in private collections.
________________________________________________________________________
NAIDOC Week off - to a flying start
Libby Bingham
Advocate
p.11
ABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander flags have been raised outside Tiagarra at the Bluff and the Burnie City Council to mark the start of NAIDOC Week.
As a special gesture to celebrate Indigenous culture the Tiagarra Museum in Devonport opened its doors free to the public yesterday. NAIDOC means National Aboriginal and Island Day Observance Committee.
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre state secretary Trudy Maluga said ''it is a celebration of the Aboriginal people's resilience against the odds, highlighting the living culture and history, and how our past shapes our identity".
Aboriginal elders in Devonport invited Mayor Lynn Laycock to speak at the Tiagarra flag raising attended by students from Reece High, Devonport Primary, Nixon Street Primary, Our Lady of Lourdes, Miandetta Primary and Hillcrest Primary.
Ald Laycock said it was important to highlight the history, culture and achievements of Australia's indigenous people past and present. The mayor said thankfully there had been a shift in our knowledge and understanding but she said we still had a distance to travel. The TAC said the importance of knowing one's past is the theme of this year's NAIDOC week celebrations.
TAC called for open access to Aboriginal land and the establishment of a cultural fund to buy items of Aboriginal heritage still in private collections.
________________________________________________________________________
9 June 2011
|
|
________________________________________________________________________
1 March 2011
Devonport Mayor Lynn Laycock accepted gifts from the eldest Ainu Elder Haruzo Urakawa, 72, honourary president of the Tokyo Ainu Association
1 March 2011
Tiagarra hosts cross-cultural connection
ADVOCATE
TRADITIONAL ceremonies have marked the coming together of the indigenous cultures of Tasmania and Japan at the Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre at the Bluff in Devonport. A visiting Ainu Japanese cross cultural group has been in the region since Friday spending time with members of the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation (SRAC), formerly the Mersey Level Aboriginal Corporation (MLAC).
Co-organiser of the exchange, SRAC member Peter Sims said the two groups were camped in tents at Panatana at the Rubicon Rivulet since Friday to experience traditional Aboriginal ways and talk about issues such as the protection and maintenance of cultural heritage sites.
Mr Sims said since the 1990s MLAC has been working with the Japanese people developing cross-cultural tours such as this one.
The visit is being filmed for screening on Japanese television.The group has now left Devonport to spend the next three days at Cradle Mountain.
At Monday's ceremonial exchange Devonport Mayor Lynn Laycock accepted gifts from the eldest Ainu Elder Haruzo Urakawa, 72, honourary president of the Tokyo Ainu Association. Mr Urakawa presented the Mayor with a Ainu tapestry for the city art collection. He said it was his first visit to Tasmania which reminded him of his Ainu homeland.''I have noticed there are similarities between the Aboriginal people and our people in their lifestyles and their values,'' he said through an interpretor.
Mr Urakawa led a saki ceremony to acknowledge the land and thank the traditional people and their ancestors as well as all beings.Mr Urakawa spoke of learning the Ainu lifestyle including hunting from his father. Today he runs Kamuy-Mintar (the Garden where Gods Play), Ainu Cultural Facilities he built himself.Also visiting with the Ainu group is Keisuke Kudo, 19, a first-year student at Hosei University in Tokyo and grandson of a noted Ainu activist and embroidery artist Shizue Ukaji.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/692719/tiagarra-hosts-cross-cultural-connection/
Tiagarra hosts cross-cultural connection
ADVOCATE
TRADITIONAL ceremonies have marked the coming together of the indigenous cultures of Tasmania and Japan at the Tiagarra Aboriginal Centre at the Bluff in Devonport. A visiting Ainu Japanese cross cultural group has been in the region since Friday spending time with members of the Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation (SRAC), formerly the Mersey Level Aboriginal Corporation (MLAC).
Co-organiser of the exchange, SRAC member Peter Sims said the two groups were camped in tents at Panatana at the Rubicon Rivulet since Friday to experience traditional Aboriginal ways and talk about issues such as the protection and maintenance of cultural heritage sites.
Mr Sims said since the 1990s MLAC has been working with the Japanese people developing cross-cultural tours such as this one.
The visit is being filmed for screening on Japanese television.The group has now left Devonport to spend the next three days at Cradle Mountain.
At Monday's ceremonial exchange Devonport Mayor Lynn Laycock accepted gifts from the eldest Ainu Elder Haruzo Urakawa, 72, honourary president of the Tokyo Ainu Association. Mr Urakawa presented the Mayor with a Ainu tapestry for the city art collection. He said it was his first visit to Tasmania which reminded him of his Ainu homeland.''I have noticed there are similarities between the Aboriginal people and our people in their lifestyles and their values,'' he said through an interpretor.
Mr Urakawa led a saki ceremony to acknowledge the land and thank the traditional people and their ancestors as well as all beings.Mr Urakawa spoke of learning the Ainu lifestyle including hunting from his father. Today he runs Kamuy-Mintar (the Garden where Gods Play), Ainu Cultural Facilities he built himself.Also visiting with the Ainu group is Keisuke Kudo, 19, a first-year student at Hosei University in Tokyo and grandson of a noted Ainu activist and embroidery artist Shizue Ukaji.
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/692719/tiagarra-hosts-cross-cultural-connection/
Ainu visitors were also taken to Panatana, Port Sorell in 2011, sharing this very special cultural place
2010
2010
Formal assessment of Tiagarra's collections of extensive Aboriginal stone tool and other cultural objects was sought by the local Aboriginal community.
"TASMANIA - Mersey Leven Aboriginal Corporation received $4,000 for a Significance Assessment of the collection. Sharon Dennis attended the workshops on behalf of the organisation. Consultant Veronica Macno undertook the assessment of the Tiagarra Keeping Place Interpretation, Education and Cultural Centre collection, with research assistance by Peter Sims. She compiled a comprehensive report which will assist the Corporation in understanding the significance of the artefacts, and their proper storage and display. Other results include the possibility of lobbying for further support and funding for the Centre in the future, and future research and educational activities leading to a broader sharing of the knowledge documented. The project has been completed and acquitted."
Formal assessment of Tiagarra's collections of extensive Aboriginal stone tool and other cultural objects was sought by the local Aboriginal community.
"TASMANIA - Mersey Leven Aboriginal Corporation received $4,000 for a Significance Assessment of the collection. Sharon Dennis attended the workshops on behalf of the organisation. Consultant Veronica Macno undertook the assessment of the Tiagarra Keeping Place Interpretation, Education and Cultural Centre collection, with research assistance by Peter Sims. She compiled a comprehensive report which will assist the Corporation in understanding the significance of the artefacts, and their proper storage and display. Other results include the possibility of lobbying for further support and funding for the Centre in the future, and future research and educational activities leading to a broader sharing of the knowledge documented. The project has been completed and acquitted."
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5 Sept. 2010
Indigenous MP long time arriving
ADVOCATE
I think there will be many Tasmanians, like myself, who welcome the election of Australia's first indigenous member of the House of Representatives, the new Member for Hasluck Ken Wyatt (``Racism shock to black MP'', Sunday Tasmanian, August 29).
The emergence of indigenous representation in this country has been a long time coming, despite the good work done by some indigenous leaders in the past, such as Queensland senator Neville Bonner and South Australia's former Governor, Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls.
In 1976, Governor Nicholls officially opened the Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal Museum and Cultural Centre at the Mersey Bluff in Devonport.
John R. Wilson, Daisy Dell
5 Sept. 2010
Indigenous MP long time arriving
ADVOCATE
I think there will be many Tasmanians, like myself, who welcome the election of Australia's first indigenous member of the House of Representatives, the new Member for Hasluck Ken Wyatt (``Racism shock to black MP'', Sunday Tasmanian, August 29).
The emergence of indigenous representation in this country has been a long time coming, despite the good work done by some indigenous leaders in the past, such as Queensland senator Neville Bonner and South Australia's former Governor, Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls.
In 1976, Governor Nicholls officially opened the Tiagarra Tasmanian Aboriginal Museum and Cultural Centre at the Mersey Bluff in Devonport.
John R. Wilson, Daisy Dell
8 July 2010
Event at Tiagarra
Event at Tiagarra
23 April 2010
Shock at Tiagarra closure
Advocate
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/684737/shock-at-tiagarra-closure/
Shock at Tiagarra closure
Advocate
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/684737/shock-at-tiagarra-closure/
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4 Feb 2010
COUNCILS' DESIRES
Mercury
p.10
(excerpt) DEVONPORT -
Mersey Aquatic Centre improvements to include eight-lane x 25m indoor pool, infant awareness pool, hydrotherapy pool, steam room and gymnasium.
- Maritime Museum Enhancement Project.
- Resource Recovery Shop at Waste Transfer Station.
- Purpose-built collection storage facility for Devonport Regional Art Gallery to preserve and protect state's only solely Tasmanian works of art, craft and design.
- Shared cycleways Devonport to Latrobe and Devonport to Spreyton.
- Tiagarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Museum Redevelopment.
- Commencement of stage two of Home Hill redevelopment.
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