A Quiet Town

The sun breaks over the horizon of the sleepy seaside town of Culburra Beach on Australia’s south coast. A light breeze comes off the water, waking locals and holidaymakers alike to the dawn of a new day. Here, in the government locale of Shoalhaven, residents have been left in suspension regarding an ongoing development application lodged by the Halloran Trust in 2014. Halloran proposed housing stock and a golf course at Long Bow Point to be built into this developing town. It’s a proposal that has divided the local community.

Some see the value in building up the town to ensure its longevity, others prefer it to remain the quiet seaside town it’s always been. Some believe in the cultural significance of the area, others struggle to understand.

On 24 July 2018, the golf course at Long Bow Point was rejected. The application for the development of housing stock continues.

This is the story of the many points of view that dictate that ongoing decision, and how one particular point of view lead to the revelation of many.

Our interest in this proposal began with the fierce opposition posed by the Jerrinja people - the Aboriginal clan who believe the land in question has significant cultural value to them. Our team made numerous attempts to contact members of the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council and other members of the community such as conservationists, to understand the destruction that would be caused by such developments and to provide insight into the important relationship between land and culture. However, despite persistence, these parties declined to comment.

Therefore, our group was tasked with taking a different approach in learning about the pros and cons of the proposal – who was for, who was against and why this was the case. As a result, we made contact with a number of parties who have provided greater clarity on the topic, while also being in a position to comment on the Indigenous perspective that began this whole investigation.

Their perspectives propelled an investigation as to who sits where and why and how much people know. This project therefore aims to give a unbiased voice to all sides involved, to understand how a small town means so much to so many and to deduce the lasting impacts of a decision on the wider population.

This story is that story.

That story is called Where We Stand.

BEN MAY, TRACEY McCALL AND JASON BRIGDEN

Local Culburra residents

We met with people like local residents, including mother and son Ben May and Tracey McCall, who remain neutral in regard to the outcome of the proposal. They can see the need for revitalisation, while also maintaining that if they wanted to live in a built-up coastal community, they’d move to somewhere like Bondi. Tracey wasn’t even aware of the Aboriginal custodianship component of the case. Alternatively, residents like Jason Bridgen are happy to “maintain the balance” and thought that Aboriginal ownership of the land was simply a given.