A City on Country Framework

Nipaluna (Hobart) A City on Country

MILAYTHINA (COUNTRY) - CENTRED FRAMEWORK DEVELOPING WITH COUNTRY

Milaythina is the palawa kani word for “Country.”

Acknowledgement of Country

In recognition of the deep history and culture of our city, we acknowledge the Tasmanian Aboriginal People as the Traditional Owners/First People of this island of Lutruwita. We acknowledge the strength and determination of the Palawa People of Lutruwita who have survived invasion and dispossession and continue to maintain their identity, culture, and rights.

We recognise that we have much to learn from Aboriginal People today, who represent the world’s oldest continuing culture. We recognise the value of continuing Aboriginal knowledge and cultural practice. We pay our sincere respects to Elders past and present and to all Aboriginal People living in and around Nipaluna (Hobart).

Source: City of Hobart’s Aboriginal Commitment and Action Plan (CoH ACAP).

Image: discovertasmania.com.au/ 2tasmanian-aboriginal-experiences/

0.0 Introduction

0.1 Aim

0.2 Audience

0.3 Context

1.0 Nipaluna (Hobart)

1.1 Background

1.2 Reading Country

1.3 What does a ‘City on Country’ mean?

1.4 City on Country Reading

2.0 Designing with Country

2.1 Building on Country - Process

2.2 Applying Designing with Country

2.3 Indigenous Design Principles - Starting with Country - Imagining with Country - Enriching Country - Caring for Country

3.0 Glossary of Terms

Project: Nipaluna (Hobart) -- A City on Country

Document Title: Discussion Paper

Client: City of Hobart

Date: 26/08/2024

Revision: B

Prepared by: For: With support from:

0.0 Introduction

Milaythina (Country)-Centred Framework (the Framework) is a guide for good practice to help responses to Country when planning, designing and/or delivering built environment projects.

Any development is built on Country, and impacts on her, irrespective of where, and how large or small. Each ‘build’ is another layer of history – from the Old People of the place and their families who have maintained Country for millennia, to the colonial settlers.

Irrespective of the impact of colonisation, Palawa people continue their role and responsibility as Keepers of Country.

Health is important for all lifeforms. If any part of Country is unwell, then the affect is felt from beneath the earth, to the skies and all life in between. In effect, healthy Country, healthy people.

Sky Country is choking from light and smoke pollution, rendering our (visual) connection to our Star Ancestors and Creation stories at risk and ever-increasing debris, ‘space junk’, uncontrollably drifting across the skies.

Life-sustaining waterways are contaminated, re-routed by human intervention or the flow blocked completely. The integrity of marine environments increasingly at risk of collapsing. All symptoms of development.

However, although the health of Country has been compromised, there are actions local councils, developers, urban planners and designers can take to ameliorate impacts of future growth, and re-development – where appropriate to heal Country. One such action is ‘Countryfocused design’. This process has Respect for Country at its core. A process that begins ‘from the first marks on the page’.

0.1 Aim

This Framework aims to foster collaboration and respect between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to support the health and well-being of Country. The commitment outlined in this framework emphasises the importance of valuing Aboriginal perspectives and knowledge in built projects, with the understanding that caring for the land benefits everyone.

The long-term strategic goals of the commitment are focused on sustainable land, sky and water practices to mitigate the impacts of natural events, respecting and incorporating Aboriginal cultural knowledge into infrastructure projects, and ensuring that Aboriginal people have access to their homelands for cultural practices and protection of sensitive sites.

The Framework serves as a foundation for improving processes and achieving these goals. It emphasises collaboration, respect, and openmindedness among all stakeholders, encouraging the sharing of knowledge and cultural immersion. Ultimately, the initiative seeks to unite diverse perspectives and promote holistic approaches to caring for Country.

0.2 Audience

This Framework is designed for project clients, project teams, and the communities they serve. It offers guidance for Country-focused design. Moreover, it strives to cultivate a robust and thriving Aboriginal culture within our built environment. Specifically, the framework caters to:

• Aboriginal community: to facilitate the promotion of built environment projects they are engaged in.

• City of Hobart: to enable the responsiveness to and advocacy for the needs of Aboriginal community within the City’s policies and projects.

• Government agencies: to empower better decision-making processes affecting Country through collaborative partnerships with Aboriginal communities.

• The design and planning industry: to enhance cultural awareness and the ability to respectfully interpret cultural knowledge shared by Aboriginal communities.

• Developers, both Aboriginal community and non-Aboriginal people: to assist in crafting proposals that align with and contribute to the health and well-being of Country.

This Framework aims to complement and bolster the efforts of Aboriginal colleagues and community leaders who have established protocols and policies for engaging with Aboriginal community, fostering Aboriginal employment opportunities, integrating Country into design processes, and safeguarding Aboriginal cultural heritage. It is intended to foster collaboration among all stakeholders, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike, encouraging collective action with mutual respect and open-mindedness to harness our combined knowledge for the betterment of our shared environment.

0.3 Context

Nationally, a City on Country is informed by the wider context of First Nations rights recognition, social policy, legislation, design standards and research.

At a state level, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975 in Tasmania provides the legal framework to protect Aboriginal Heritage but is separate to the development process which is covered instead by the Land Use Planning and Approval Act 1993.

30 Year Greater

Planning

Structure Plans (Central Hobart Plan + Neighbourhood Plans)

Planning Scheme Amendments / Local Provisions Schedule

Development Applications & Contributions

Legend

State Government strategies & polices

Linked areas or context

Nipaluna (Hobart) A City on Country Framework Development, generally not CoH initiated

Locally, The City of Hobart is developing Hobart Design Guidelines. The City on Country Framework will sit as an overarching document that informs these guidelines along side Heritage Design Guidelines.

Plan (TAS Gov.)

Hobart Community Vision Capital City Strategic Plan 2023

Policy & management

Heritage Design Guidelines

Hobart Design Guidelines A City on Country framework

Public Realm Design Manual/s

Street and open space asset management (ongoing)

Design & delivery

Street Vision & Action Plans

Retail Precinct Upgrades (future)

Note: CoH Urban Design projects (under development) are in bold text.

1.0

Image: sonicobjects.com/ projects/two_islands/

1.1 A Brief History

Palawa people of Lutruwita/Tasmania have been here since the time of Creation; since two Star Brothers, Muyini and Rrumitina created Palawa, the First Ancestor to walk on the earth. After which the ground was cut to make the islands, mountains, waterways and seas. For so long there was little to no acknowledgment of there being any history of Nipaluna (Hobart) prior to 1803-04, in fact, that could be said of this whole island of Lutruwita/Tasmania.

No acknowledgement of the Muwinina having lived in their Ancestral homelands, which included the country at and around Nipaluna (Hobart). Nothing about the ingenuity of a people who had cared for their Country for millennia. Missing. Forgotten. Like they never existed. Over the past few years however, there has been a change. With the dual naming of Kunanyi/Mount Wellington, and more information about original nomenclature, more and more of the general public are using those placenames. In fact generally speaking, there is a thirst for knowledge about our Palawa Ngini (Old People). An appetite for truthtelling. Of course, this can be confronting – for us (as the storytellers) and for some settler descendants. We at milangkani projects are committed to truth-telling and representing our Elders with integrity and authenticity. We are proud to be part of a Community that is the oldest living culture in the world.

Nipaluna (Hobart) is part of the unceded country of the Muwinina people of the South East Nation; and although there are no living descendants of the Muwinina, this is still unceded Country – taymi ningina raytji warr!!! An abundance of freshwater and marine resources, land animals, birds (and their eggs), and plants provided sustenance and enabled the people to continue with culture; expertly and sustainably managing their country, so that there would be plenty from season to season. Since the time of Palawa, Muwinina families lived within their Country – including this place now called ‘Hobart’. Long-held cultural knowledge and an innate connection with the environment informed every aspect of their daily lives. Reciprocity was key to the survival of all species.

Here, where the city of Hobart now stands, the Muwinina witnessed the incursion of the new-comers into their traditional homelands.

The building of infrastructure changed forever the ability of the Muwinina to care for Country in proper way. Re-routing the natural flow of water courses such as the Hobart Rivulet also changed the ability of people to read Country. The original shoreline of Timtumili Minanya at and around Mac Point, the front of the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens and what is now the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is no longer the same as it was when Muwinina families collected shellfish for feasts. Hunter Street has replaced Hunter Island. A new foreshore ‘fashioned’ by colonists to suit their lifestyles and industry. The twists and turns of Old Water Country knowledge destroyed forever.

This is part of the tragedy of the Muwinina who sadly are no longer here. Takila mana-mapali, Palawa-nara, putiya nayri; putiya nayri. Waranta tangara.

And so, the responsibility of the surviving Palawa community is to ensure that the Muwinina of Nipaluna (Hobart), and other Palawa Ngini who are no longer here, are never forgotten. That their place in what is now called Hobart is acknowledged, honoured and celebrated.

Lutruwita consists of 9 nations. Each nation has its own distinctive physical, social, cultural and economic characteristics and different ways of conducting their internal and external relations.

1.2 What is Country?

We are Country; Country is us.

Country is not necessarily just nature. In fact, Country is both the tangible and intangible. She is what we see; but also what we know to be – what we feel.

It holds everything within the landscape, including Sky, Earth, Sea and Fresh Water Country, as well as people, plants, animals, and the stories that connect them. From the mountain top of Kunanyi from where lightening came, the life-sustaining rivulets of clear, fresh water that flow into Timtumili Minanya; and our Star Ancestors that we have looked to since the beginning of time.

mina Milaythina Wurangkili nita-pulana-paya, Muyini + Rrumitina Pumili Palawa; Nungampi Ngini Pama takara kuntana-ta

I am Sky Country; Two star brothers Muyini and Rrumitina made Palawa; the first Ancestor to walk on Country.

Mina Kunanyi; takamuna lunta Nipaluna Palawa ngayapi Makuminya Palawa Ngini makara lumi milaythina-ti Muwinina putiya lumi

I am Kunanyi; standing behind Nipaluna since the time of Palawa

The tracks of the Old People are still here; in Country. But the Muwinina are gone.

Mina Muwinina, Palawa Ngini palanawina Timtumili Minanya-ta pumili raytji milaythina taymi ningina raytji-ta; milaythina Muwinina Takariliya-mana-mapali ngayapi lumi; milangkani milaythina-manamapali; krakapaka lumi paywuta Waranta kanaplila patrula-ta; waranta putiya takara milaythina-mana-manapli; tunapri Palawa Ngini makara manina paywuta manta

Paliti Muwinina makara milaythina-nara paywuta manta

I am the Muwinina; the Old people of the settlement at and around Timtumili Minanya built by white men on stolen lands; Muwinina lands

Many generations of Our families have been born here; have grown here on our country; and have died here.

We have celebrated at our fires.

We no longer walk within our Country; BUT the Old Knowledge will always be in Country Muwinina spirit will forever be in Country

Waranta Palawa-warr takariliya-mana-mapali makara Lutruwita-ti paywuta ngayapi Palawa;

waynapuni patrula-mana-mapali ningina nayri takariliya-manamapali; milaythina-mana-mapali

waranta tunapri tunapri Muwinina

waranta tunapri tunapri Pakana Ngini ; takariliya ngini Lutruwita-ti waranta tunapri tunapri kanaplila Ningimpi Nungampi –Waranta Pakana-warr!

We are the Palawa People-warr!

Our families have been here in Lutruwita since the time of Palawa, The smoke from our fires continue to heal our people; heal our Country

We respectfully honour the Muwinina; All of the Old People; the old families of Lutruwita

We remember and celebrate our Elders – past and present

We are the Pakana Community-warr!

Theresa Sainty

1.3 Cultural Awareness

Cultural awareness is the first step to creating authentic, meaningful and culturally safe relationships and spaces where a person’s identity is fully respected and affirmed.

When developing or building on Country, or working with Aboriginal people, cultural awareness is not only about cultural heritage and the deep past but is related to the historical and current contexts of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. It is about understanding what has shaped Lutruwita’s First People’s world views, values and aspirations. It also involves reflecting on one’s own Lifeworld and the things that shape and influence non-Indigenous perspectives.

Culturally appropriate engagement and partnership involve actively recognising and respecting the unique cultural values, traditions, and knowledge of the communities involved. It requires a commitment to genuine collaboration, where the voices and perspectives of all participants are honored. This approach fosters mutual trust, ensuring that the engagement is not only inclusive but also empowering, enabling communities to shape outcomes that reflect their cultural heritage and aspirations. Such partnerships are built on a foundation of respect, understanding, and shared responsibility, leading to more meaningful outcomes.

Cultural awareness however does not finish at the end of a workshop. It is an ongoing journey for both individuals and the workplace as a whole.

For a Milaythina-centred cultural framework to be sustainable, project processes and work environments must be authentic with a vision, and commitment to building on previous cultural awareness learnings across all levels of the project team and workplace.

There are several Palawa people who are supported by the Palawa community to provide ongoing training, workshops, cultural experiences, engagement and other services.

1.4 Cultural Intellectual Property

Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICICP) refers to all aspects of “traditional knowledge and cultural expressions that are passed down over time and between generations. It also includes knowledge and cultural expressions generated now, and in the future”.

It is critical to recognise and protect ICIP as it is owned collectively, is a way of being and is what connects First People to their community, lands, seas and skies. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples recognises ICIP rights to “maintain, control, protect and develop their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions”. Further, First Nations solicitor Dr Terri Janke explains that “ICIP rights are the rights to control who can use and adapt this ICIP; the right of attribution; the right of integrity; and the right to benefit sharing”.

Misappropriation of ICIP can result in exploitation, unfair competition, and economic marginalisation of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, consultants, and professionals, who may not receive due recognition or benefits for their cultural and intellectual contributions.

For the purposes of this document, ICIP applies to the Milaythinacentred Framework developed by the consultants Zoe Rimmer and Theresa Sainty. It has been shared as a useful tool that can be applied across various projects and a perspective that can continue to inspire Nipaluna (Hobart) on its journey as a ‘City on Country’. When using the Milaythina-centred Framework we request that our ICIP is acknowledged.

Sources: https://www.artslaw.com.au/information-sheet/indigenouscultural-intellectual-property-icip-aitb/ https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wpcontent/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf

Terri Janke, True Tracks, Respecting Indigenous Knowledge and Culture, UNSW Press, 2021.

1.3 What does a ‘City on Country’ mean?

To consider this question, one must ask themselves ‘what is country?’ Does the word country carry the same meaning for all people? No matter where we are in the colonised world, including this island of Lutruwita, and the city of Nipaluna (Hobart) we are on Country.

For Aboriginal people Country is more than land. More than a commodity to be bought and sold.

Country is us, and we are Country; a living entity. Country is the land, seas, waterways and skies and all aspects of Country are connected –no one is more important. Country is our Lifeworld. Where Aboriginal people see Country as a whole; an extension of her People, local councils, urban designers and planners compartmentalise her into ‘zones’, e.g. Mountain, foothills, housing, river (Urban Design Framework key stakeholder engagement Overview Presentation. Provided by HCC).

We talk to Country; introduce ourselves when we enter the country of another tribe. We sing to Country – our Songlines are a map of Country in song. Language comes from Country and culture is determined by Country. If one part of Country is not healthy, then that affects all Country – including People.

In 1803, the Country where the first colonial settlement was to be situated was the Country of the Mumirimina (on the eastern shore of the Timtumili Minanya) where lush grasslands irresistible to the large population of wallaby and kangaroo had been expertly managed by Aboriginal people using fire. People, Country and the elements working together as they had done for millennia. It was a place where Mumirimina and the Big River families hunted together; feasted together and held ceremony. However, on 3 May 1804 that part of Country became a place of death for the Mumirimina and their Big River allies, when they were fired upon by drunken soldiers. Many Aboriginal people were killed that day; at the place where the first massacre of Aborigines in Lutruwita occurred.

Not too far to the north/east of what became known as Risdon Cove there is a headland between Geilston and Shag Bays. This too was an important communal area for the Mumirimina. A rock shelter in a perfect position can be found on the banks of Timtumili Minanya; a stone quarry is located on the headland side of Shag Bay, and the physical evidence of many, many feasts render it a significant Aboriginal cultural landscape.

The connection between this headland on the eastern shores of Timtumili Minanya and Nipaluna (Hobart) can still be found in some colonial buildings around Salamanca area of Nipaluna (Hobart). Lime was extracted from the shell material left behind by Mumirimina families and taken by boat across the river to be used in the mortar for colonial buildings. Layers of Mumirimina history –ancient cultural heritage used in the foundations for the colonial invader. In her coauthored book Design Building on Country, Alison Page names this up as ‘building on Country as a usurper’. The shell material taken from Mumirimina Country removed part of the essence of Country; the feasts of the past; conversations and stories shared across the ages. Displaced to Muwinina Country completely out of context.

And so, the combined answers to this question will underpin the citywide Principles that work towards Nipaluna (Hobart) understanding itself as a City on Country.

Guided by Aboriginal Knowledge

Above the surface are those things that can be seen, or the material culture referenced or created by a group of people, including architecture and cultural objects. Below the surface are the components of culture that are less visible, including relationships, language, lore, history and knowledge, that are necessary to contextualize this material culture.

To understand a City on Country is to understand not only the easily seen tangible aspects of Country such as Kunanyi and Timtumili Minanya, but also understand the not easily seen - the intangible.

When responding to the tangible elements of Country, intangible elements may be revealed. The development team should be guided by Aboriginal people, who know that if we care for Country, Country will care for us.

2.0

Building on Country

2.1 Building on Country

Just as trees, mountains and rivers contain stories, the design of new places, objects and systems can be a purposeful extension of Country and imbue meaning and story into them.

When colonisers began to ‘develop’ unceded Aboriginal lands, they (super)imposed foreign names, species and values onto Country. Trying to replicate the world from which they had come, without consideration to the new environment or the People who had tended to Country for millennia.

Through an understanding of deep time and recent histories, Nipaluna (Hobart) can become a city that reawakens the untold stories of Country, leads the process of understanding the harm caused to the original owners and their unceded land. It can become a City on Country that acknowledges and celebrates Palawa heritage, culture, arts and community.

This framework provides a series of city-wide principles that work towards the city understanding itself on Country. Exploring decolonising Country, healing Country, caring for Country, revealing Country, and sharing Country.

Page suggests a ‘new ethos’ for Australian design, designers, and architects would be for them to see the “construction of the built environment as an extension of our creation stories.”

This new approach to design; to building on Country is crucial if the aspirations of ‘City on Country’ are to be achieved.

Human-centred or Country-centred Diagram adapted from German architect Steffen Lehmann’s ‘Eco v Ego’ diagram, 2010

2.2 Milaythina (Country)-centred approach

In a typical built environment project cycle, we can integrate familiar project management practices with Aboriginal knowledge systems. “Starting with Country,” “imagining,” “shaping,” and “caring” are useful terms utilised in the NSW Connecting with Country Framework and we have adapted them here to demonstrate a Milaythina (Country)centred approach from a Palawa perspective.

Formation: This phase entails immersing oneself in the process of connecting with Country, initiating an understanding of its essence.

Design: Here, the focus is on envisioning alongside Country, allowing its influence to shape the creative process.

Delivery: This stage involves actively moulding with Country, transforming plans into tangible outcomes that harmonize with its essence.

Maintenance: Seen as an ongoing commitment, this phase involves nurturing Country, ensuring its well-being is sustained over time.

The following section demonstrates how this framework can be applied through the Palawa philosophy and knowledge of stringing shells into the beautiful kanalaritja (necklace of shells), thereby providing a Palawacentred approach to working with Country, Culture and Community in Lutruwita (Tasmania). The suggested principles should be considered a starting point rather than an exhaustive and prescriptive checklist. They should be adaptable to the requirements of the project and, although categorised here within the ‘project life cycle’ framework, may apply throughout the entire project.

2.3 Principles for Culturally Connected Design

In Lutruwita the stringing of shells into a necklace, (known as kanalaritja) is a unique cultural practice of Palawa women and an iconic representation of our island home - past, present and future. As a practice embedded in deep time connection to Country, and knowledge of the interconnectedness with the seasons and moon cycles, there are several phases that are critical to the successful formation of the final product that is kanalaritja. Each of these phases is underpinned by Palawa ancestral obligation to environmental and cultural sustainability; climate change action; and healthy connected communities. We have adapted the kanalaritja philosophy to develop a culturally connected framework for responding to Country.

While anyone can put shells on a piece of string, or even add some random shells to an already made necklace, without engagement and investment in each of the phases outlined above it will never be an authentic, Palawa kanalaritja. The final product, kanalaritja, is not the most important part of the process – it is the immersion in Country and the conversations that occur as the shells are collected; the laughter, tears and stories that wash over each shell as they are expertly pierced and strung; it is the deep time knowledge that connects the past with the present.

Likewise, it is the commitment to a Milaythina-centred process that will result in projects that not only respond to Country in a meaningful, authentic and successful way, but will transform Nipaluna (Hobart) into ‘a city on Country’.

Starting with Country

FORMATION

Project life cycle from an Aboriginal perspective Diagram adapted from architect Ben Hewett’s ‘Project Lifecycle’ drawing, 2018

1. STARTING WITH COUNTRY (formation)

The immersive stage. This requires deep listening and learning from knowledge holders. Just as the making of kanalaritja requires extensive time gathering shells, the formation of a project that ‘starts with Country’ involves being on Country, working to identify and collect the resources, ‘yarning’ and building relationships with people and place.

Principle Questions to ask

1.1 Undertake necessary research

1.2 Allocate time and resources

Has Aboriginal cultural heritage and technical studies relevant to the project been undertaken?

When significant items are discovered during subsurface investigations, how will collaboration with the local Aboriginal community be established to determine culturally appropriate handling, repatriation, and reburial?

Should cultural awareness training be undertaken?

Have the Aboriginal community members who you will be working with been identified?

Has sufficient time and resources been allocated for community to participate?

Has flexibility with timing and location of meetings been allowed?

1.3 Ensure community empowerment Can the Aboriginal community lead and guide the project from the outset and throughout?

Can the Aboriginal community inform financial decision-making?

1.4 Follow engagement protocols Is there a community engagement protocol established?

1.5 Share knowledge

Has a discussion with all involved occured indicating how historic events and cultural narratives will be supported?

Have community concerns about building development and how it will affect Country been heard and acted upon?

Why is this important?

To to avoid the destruction of Aboriginal heritage

To avoid consultation fatigue and prevent duplicating time and effort when information is already available.

To aid communication with those involved, and to support project planning and design.

To ensure that consultants and community representatives participating in knowledge-sharing workshops are given sufficient notice and paid appropriately

To build trust with the community and deliver better project outcomes, particularly those that will benefit the community.

To establish a common understanding for how to communicate and behave when working with community

To work out how multiple accounts of historic events and cultural narratives will be told.

While many Aboriginal people understand that some decisions will be made without their endorsement, many feel deep sorrow about how building development will affect Country.

1.6 Respect intellectual property

1.7 Create employment opportunities

Have protocols been established that will ensure knowledge and other intellectual property (e.g. artwork) is protected and appropriately credited?

Keep confidential records of all engagement sessions. Have community been informed on how intellectual property is being used? Has permission been granted before sharing information?

Has an Aboriginal cultural advisor or other Aboriginal professionals been engaged?

To acknowledge the intellectual property of knowledge-holders, and ensure it is used respectfully and not by others or for other purposes.

To maintain good communication on how intellectual property is being used, and reassure community that protocols are being followed.

To support the project team with community consultation and interpreting cultural knowledge with integrity and authenticity.

Formation Case Study: takara limuna (Sheoak Walk) at Bedlam Walls

Client: Clarence City Council

Concept, research and writing: Theresa Sainty and Zoe Rimmer, milangkani Projects,

Design: Alex Miles

Artwork: Allan Mansell, Black Ant Art

Here, the focus is on co-design and storying, from the formation of the project, the naming of the walk to the locations of each point of focus around the track, and use of palawa kani language. Palawa consultants were involved in every aspect of the design, research and implementation.

This headland on the eastern shore of Timtumili Minanya (River Derwent) was an important place for the Mumirimina people. The interpretation panels located along the track shares their story. The incorporation of the designs of Palawa artist Allan Mansell within the interpretation nodes and the development of a central gathering place, revive that Country as a space for both Palawa and the broader community to connect with the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the area.

2023 PIA State Award for Planning ExcellencePlanning with Country

2024 PIA National Awards: COMMENDATION for Planning Excellence – Planning with Country

2. IMAGINING WITH COUNTRY (design)

This is the process of allowing Country to creatively shape the project. Like the kanalaritja phase of preparing the shells for stringing, it is the careful processing; giving the time and patience to properly prepare the resources (information) that have been collected, while also sorting and arranging the shells, seeing the patterns and developing the design.

Principle Questions to ask

2.1 Start with the First Nations (Including Placenames)

- Where is the project located and how does it sit within the broader cultural landscape?

- Who are the First People of the Country/Place?

- Are First Nations placenames in use, and if so, what do they describe?

- What cultural themes do placenames reveal?

Why is this important?

- To understand how relationships between neighbouring nations may influence collaboration and design outcomes.

-To better understand what placenames reveal about Country and guide design responses.

2.2 Connect to broader landscape settings

2.3 Reawaken memory

- Has the site been considered in relation to surrounding landforms, watercourses, and broader ecological systems?

- Does the design promote sightlines and views that connect to broader cultural landscapes?

- To understand the site within its wider environmental and cultural context, ensuring meaningful connections between place and Country.

- To understand how connection can be established through subtle features such as sightlines or elements prompting reflection and memory, and to maintain their relationship with the overarching cultural narrative.

- To protect the connection between the tangible and intangible - places, landscapes - and maintain their relationship with the overarching cultural narrative.

2.4 Consider designing with Country at multiple scales

- Has an understanding of the original state of the natural environment, as well as the social and cultural significance of the place, been considered?

- Is there a story to tell, and has the community given permission for it to be told?

- Can space for truth-telling be incorporated?

- How can acknowledgement and celebration of memory be embedded in the design?

- Does the design consider the broader precinct features before working through finer-grained design factors at the building or site-specific scale?

- To incorporate storytelling and knowledge of the past so it can enrich the design of places.

- In doing so, a space for Truthtelling is incorporated by way of storying and knowledge.

- To connect with the broader cultural landscape through a Country-centred design approach.

Design Case Study: 174-192 Liverpool Street

Client: Techne Group

Concept, research and writing: Theresa Sainty and Zoe Rimmer, milangkani Projects

Design: Gray Puksand & REALMstudios

Embedded within the design team Palawa consultants explored opportunities to reawaken the memories of Nipaluna and Freshwater Country. The proposed site had been substantially changed since pre-invasion - built over.

The design established an understanding of the original state of the natural environment, as well as the social and cultural importance of the place.

The act of revealing the rivulet reconnected the site to the broader cultural landscape - mountain to river. The design honours the Muwinina, through connections to Country, allowing space for truthtelling, acknowledgement and celebration of memory embedded in the public spaces.

This stage is about transforming plans into tangible outcomes by bringing together the deep memory of Country with innovative design and modern (yet authentic) concepts of culture. It is the “making” phase, like the stringing together of individual shells to create the final product - each individual shell is equally important, but when strung together, they become an interconnected whole.

Principle Questions to ask Why is this important?

3.1 Construct with Country - How will the building or place become part of Country once completed?

- Has a skills audit of the community been undertaken before construction?

3.2 Plan for ceremony - Maintaining regular dialogue with the cultural consultant and/or community members who may be involved throughout the project will be key to the successful cultural opening of a project if appropriate.

- This relates to sustainability. Of building materials, and of design. Once we place something on or within Country it becomes a part of Country. The development /build should reflect that.

- Ceremony is an important cultural process showing respect and giving thanks to Country. Celebrating achievement at key milestones is also an important part of building confidence in the process, for project teams and community. Particularly on completion of the project. It can strengthen relationships that will contribute to positive outcomes for the next project.

Case Study: Karadi health clinics

Client: Karadi Aboriginal Corporation

Cultural consultant: Theresa Sainty, milangkani Projects

Design: Cumulus Studios & Playstreet

Here, the focus is on delivering a modern Aboriginal community health facility that is culturally grounded; from the initial concept to the way the building sits within Country that is now an extremely modified landscape, to the incorporation of culturally inspired finishings and furnishings.

In designing the concept for this new build, nukara (the weaving of baskets) provided creative inspiration for the colour palette, the texture/s of the building materials and the restorative landscape architecture. Just as Palawa baskets hold the conversations, laughter and tears of the weavers, this building will ‘hold’ each individual family – the Community – creating a safe and nurturing space; a culturally-inspired place for health to be revived. In the same way as Palawa women have revived this important part of culture.

A cultural consultant has been involved since the design phase, with the Karadi Board and staff of the organisation fully involved and informing the design team since the inception of the project.

Caring for Country is a phrase that encapsulates First Peoples’ reciprocal responsibilities and truth, that if ‘you care for Country, Country will care for you’. As an ongoing commitment, this phase involves nurturing Country, ensuring her well-being and that relationships with Country are sustained over time. It is the ‘wearing of the kanalaritja’ stage (using, sharing, celebrating whether in ceremony or every day). But it comes with the responsibility of caring, maintaining and continuing. Like a kanalaritja (necklace of shells); Caring for Country is a continuous loop of connections that must be maintained over time to keep the necklace strong.

Principle Questions to ask

4.1 Provide access to Country If appropriate, has access been negotiated with the Aboriginal community?

Why is this important?

To enable community to continue to meet their responsibility to care for Country where it is appropiate to do so. Having community on site brings authenticity to any cultural narrative that has been incorporated within the precinct or building design.

4.2 Continue to monitor and evaluate

Has a post-occupancy evaluation been undertaken to establish project success and areas for improvement?

Are there ongoing opportunities for learning from each other, growing and even adapting/ evolving the relationships, design and delivery?

Can cultural awareness continue to be developed and strengthened?

Are the learnings from this project being considered and used in the project lifecycle of other initiatives?

To verify if a project is working as intended, so successes can be identified and repeated in future projects

To ensure Aboriginal people participate in the governance and ongoing operation of the project- where appropriate, e.g. a new Aboriginal Health Service, Legal Service build/ development.

Cultural awareness is never ending and needs to be constantly maintained and updated.

Case Study: Cascades Female Factory new interpretation build

Client: Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA)

Cultural consultant: Theresa Sainty and Zoe Rimmer, milangkani Projects

Design: Curio Projects (Jody Steele, Gemma Davie and Matt Nix), Jonathan Hearn Landscaping, and Red Arrow.

Until this Aboriginal stories associated with the location were absent. The original people of the place, Muwinina might never had existed.

By engaging cultural consultants and following a Country-centred process, the project developed three installations that provide a contemporary view of the valley’s Aboriginal and colonial history, and reflect the community’s aspirations for the future. These dovetail with the new masterplan for the town centre, ensuring a commitment to maintaining the installations and continue to add to the story. It is about revealing the deep past and recognising the more recent history of conflict and dispossession, but also a celebration of survival, revitalisation and reclamation.

A particular focus was Trukanini’s original burial site in Yard 1 after her death (in 1876). Dug up two years later, her skeleton was displayed at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (between 1904-47).

In honouring Trukanini, a warrior woman, and marking her first burial site, a tuylini (stringy bark tree) was planted. For Trukanini’s people, tuylini were their family, and there is now a living ‘memorial’ marking the spot. One which, as it grows to a certain height, will be taken back to Country, and a young tuylini re-planted. An enduring and sustainable symbol of maintaining/sustaining Country and her people.

3.0 Glossary of terms

Country: A term used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to describe the lands, waters, skies, and all living things. It encompasses a deep spiritual connection to place, identity, and cultural knowledge.

Palawa: The Aboriginal people of Lutruwita (Tasmania), recognized as the original custodians of the island and its cultural heritage. Used interchangeably with Pakana, which has the same meaning.

Mumirimina: An Aboriginal clan associated with the eastern shore of Lutruwita. The Mumirimina people managed and cared for their land for millennia before colonization. pronounced (mu mee ree mee nah) ‘u’ as in ‘pull’

kanalaritja: Is a ‘necklace made from shells’. The making of kanalaritja involves collecting and stringing shells, and is a Palawa tradition that has continued uninterrupted by Palawa women. It signifies continuity, resilience, and the interconnectedness of culture, identity, and history. pronounced (kah nah lah ree tchah)

takara limuna: (Sheoak Walk) is the name given to the old Shag Bay walk at Geilston Bay by members of the Palawa community. pronounced (tah kah rah lee mu nah)

nukara: Refers to the weaving of baskets, used in the document to describe inspiration for architectural finishes and textures. It reflects deep cultural and artistic traditions.

Lunawuni: The original Aboriginal name for Bruny Island, located off the coast of Tasmania. It is the ancestral home of Trukanini and holds significant importance in Palawa history.

Trukanini: A Palawa woman from Lunawuni (Bruny Island), remembered for her resilience and advocacy for her people during the 19th century.

Nununi: The Aboriginal nation to which Trukanini belonged, primarily located on Bruny Island (Lunawuni). pronounced (nu nu nee) ‘u’ as in ‘pull’

Sources:

palawa kani – Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre: Provides information on the revival and use of the Palawa kani language.

TACINC.COM.AU

palawa kani Guide – Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre: Offers guidance on the use of palawa kani and its significance.

TACINC.COM.AU

pulingina - Welcome to Lutruwita/Tasmania placenmes map. https:// tacinc.com.au/pulingina-to-lutruwita-place-names-map/