The Dhurga Rock project of the Two Fires Festival Committee received welcome good news before Christmas, after the disappointing (thankfully not final) result of the Palerang Council meeting in December (see “A rock too far”, Braidwood Times 17th Dec 2014).
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The Hon. Troy Grant MP, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for (among other things) the Arts, advised of an approved grant of $5,000 for the Dhurga Rock, through the NSW Government’s 2015 Country Arts Support Program (CASP).
The Committee has been advised that this much appreciated funding is especially meritorious as the application was up against state-wide applicants rather than just those from the local area. This was the case because Palerang Council is not a member of Regional Arts NSW (which administers CASP), unlike many other NSW local councils, thereby rather disadvantaging any Regional Arts funding application in this region.
The Dhurga Rock project is expected to be considered again by Palerang Council at its February meeting. Since the December meeting the Committee has been working with councillors through our local representative Paul Cockram. A number of misconceptions and objections have been addressed, most notably the proposed wording for the Rock, which was incorrectly presented in the DA, and subsequently in previous Braidwood Times article. The Committee has worked hard to accommodate reasonable concerns in relation to this, with respect for different views, while avoiding a compromise that would undermine the essence and purpose of the project. The revised and current wording is:
“This rock stands as an acknowledgement that the land in the Braidwood region was occupied and cared for by the people of the Dhurga language group for tens of thousands of years before European settlement.
Their dispossession and displacement and the resulting suffering and loss of sacred culture are deeply regretted.
We aspire to a shared future in which Aboriginal wisdom is valued and all people and the land are respected and cared for.”
This project was initially developed in consultation and discussion with senior Dhurga elder Uncle Max Harrison and his family (who have ancestral links with the Braidwood area), and with expressed support from many key community groups and individuals in the local area. The Committee remains hopeful that the project may be completed in time to feature at this year’s Two Fires Festival in May.
Julia Green
Two Fires Festival Committee
Braidwood
