Page 43 - IBs November 2022

History and Culture History and Culture

ing island states: “My research is looking at ways South Sea that commemorate colonial dispossession.
Islanders can live well on Aboriginal country, so the exhibition Earlier this year, the Ben Boyd National Park – located near
is part of that, thinking about it and writing about it.” Eden in southern New South Wales – was renamed as Beowa
National Park. The new name means “killer whale” in Thaua
Digging into archives language, recognising the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the
Inspired by the work of historian Tracey Banivanua Mar, Kru- area rather than the early pioneer of blackbirding. For Kim
ger and PNG-born artist Lisa Hilli had long discussed collabora- Kruger, the decision to remove Ben Boyd’s name was also a
tive projects, considering new installations at the Melbourne generous response to the tragic history of the colonial labour
Museum or a musical to mark the 150th history of blackbirding trade.
in 2013. Kruger was also eager to develop an intergenera- “In New South Wales, the local mob included the history of
tional project, and “Sydney Road Blaks” was co-curated with blackbirding and slavery in their reasons as to why the name
her daughter Savanna, drawing on research by her mother, the should be changed,” she said. “It’s interesting that Aboriginal
noted South Sea Islander elder Patricia Corowa. people have championed the name change because of its con-
The project was inspired by Corowa’s discovery in the ar- nection to slavery, coupled with their own dispossession.”
chives of the 1847 letter about the Sydney Road men. The same process is underway in Brunswick, a Melbourne
“I asked my mother to do some research so we could tell suburb located within the local government area of Moreland.
the national story of ASSI through music, but that project- The art exhibition coincided with a decision by Moreland City
‘Blackbird Sings’ – was never realised,” Kruger said. “Howev- Council to rename the municipality as “Merri-bek”, after
er, my mother found this letter and it was really intriguing to elders from the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Ab-
us, because of the relationship between Aboriginal people and original Corporation and local Brunswick residents campaigned
South Sea Islander people highlighted in a letter.” for a name change. Moreland was originally a slave plantation
Further research in the archives revealed several newspa- in Jamaica. In 1839, settler Farquhar McCrae purchased un-
per reports monitoring the passage of the indentured workers ceded land of the Wurundjeri people in what is now Victoria,
towards Melbourne. and named his property Moreland in honour of his grandfa-
“The reporting about the men was diverse: sometimes they ther’s Caribbean slave plantation.
were portrayed as poor innocent little savages, but at other Exhibition co-curator Lisa Hilli has researched the cultural
times as menacing cannibals,” Kruger notes. “They were significance of the new name Merri-bek, the Woi Wurrung
often described as being on the run or having bolted, but the word for “rocky country”. It symbolises the bluestone that
fact that they had two wool drays with them showed to me lines the waterways of nearby Moonee Moonee and Merri
that they were working.” Creeks and highlights the stonework that is a heritage feature
These archival records inspired artworks that highlight of the area today.
location, colonial history and the role of Pacific Island labour “Today Merri-bek lines the streets and suburbs of greater
in building Australia’s economy. As Kruger notes: “My photo- Melbourne,” Hilli writes. “Merri-bek bluestone was a key
graphs are trying to show that they weren’t just on a walk in resource in building one of Australia’s major capital cities, its
the park – they were bringing wool bales down to Melbourne, surrounding suburbs, including its iconic bluestone laneways.
and it was exhausting labour. The newspaper reports said that Merri-bek bluestone built the churches that still stand today
they were willing to split logs to receive a feed, which sug- along Sydney Road and more ominously, Pentridge prison.”
gests they hadn’t been properly supplied with rations.” For Kim Kruger, the collaboration of Aboriginal, South Sea
Islander and Pacific Island artists in the Sydney Road Blaks ex-
Changing names hibition shows the way that diaspora communities can respect
The exhibition comes at a time Australians are debating the the traditional owners of country.
Uluru Statement from the Heart, a proposal for constitutional “All through this project, it has been interesting to me to
change developed at a May 2017 meeting of First Nations’ see how generous and accommodating Aboriginal people have
representatives in central Australia. The Uluru Statement been when they hear about the story of South Sea Islanders,”
proposes the creation of a First Nations Voice to Parliament, she said. “It’s not just about getting their own name back,
to be enshrined in the Australian constitution, as well as a it’s about the harms done to other groups of people. That was
Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of truth-telling really shown in the range of artists in the exhibition, the way
and reconciliation, and a Treaty between governments and they engaged and the works they produced. A lot of it is about
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. giving people safe passage and making sure they can return
Around Australia, local communities are working with indig- home safely.”
enous elders to draw out the hidden history of locations, seek-
ing to acknowledge country by changing or updating names nicmac3056@gmail.com

Islands Business, November 2022 43