Something to add?

That the history of the The Dirty Mile is so little known in the non-Indigenous population is almost criminal. As is the lack of knowledge and education about Australian Indigenous history in general.

(I say 'almost' because it is not by choice - a large part of Australia's population are starting to recognise this huge gap in our education system.)

As the stories of numerous individuals whose lives are connected to the history of Charcoal Lane disappear with the slow 'gentrification' of Fitzroy, and the disappearance of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population,  it is imperative that something be done before it is all forgotten. Archie Roach has made a lasting (global) contribution by writing and performing several songs about Fitzroy and Charcoal Lane, as did the Ilbijerri Theatre Co-op by writing, producing and performing The Dirty Mile in 2005 and again in 2008. But it is becoming ever more important for something permanent to be constructed in Fitzroy to acknowledge the history/ies of The Dirty Mile, and preferably as close to the centre of the stories - Gertrude Street - as possible.

During my site analysis/research for this project, I came across Stephanie Glickman's 2008 review of Ilbijerri's production of The Dirty Mile for Australian Stage, and her similar view to preserve some presence of Gertrude Street's Indigenous history:

(The play's) immediacy and intimacy... offers to the public interesting and little-known information (about the history of The Dirty Mile. Even though a large audience would detract from the experience of walking The Dirty Mile, it’s a shame that more people will not see this show, as it has much to offer both adults and children of all races and cultural backgrounds. Let’s hope The Dirty Mile will get a much longer life than this current second season to continue getting its message and history out to the wider public.

(go to: (http://www.australianstage.com.au/reviews/melbourne/the-dirty-mile--ilbijerri-1177.html)

This whole blog revolves around the investigation of an idea for an "Art in Public Space" proposal I had about The Dirty Mile some time ago...

If, as Sam Ainsley discusses in his essay "The Building as half the work" (in DECADENT - Public Art: Contentious Term and Contested Practice, edited by David Harding, Foulis Press, 1997), so it is possible that this building - and its context - is more than half the work of this project. Charcoal Lane, its history, its current role, its being in the midst of Gertrude Street and Fitzroy, and the high use of this area by a large number of people who at least pass by the site (from the local community to the artists, art workers, art-lovers and 'connoisseurs of things cultural' and other tourists to the area) all underpin my response to the site - on physical, social, psychological, political and historical levels - and the basis of this proposal.

Unlike the earlier version of the Charcoal Lane building when it was VAHS, the entire building that is now a restaurant and training school for "Aboriginal and disadvantaged young people" to become future chefs and hospitality-industry employees, lacks any external signs of its history - apart from a small oval plaque placed at the left of the front of the building.

But the side-wall of the building, in Little Napier Street, has a large clean, blank area...





















a spot that has potential for an Artwork that is what I would define as being of, and for, the variety of people that comprises the "Public".

In keeping with the building's new look, why not use this wall in a subtle, discrete way to address its lack of association with its own history, the history of the area and broaden the knowledge of interested passers by?

I was inspired by a work I saw at the Ricky Maynard restrospective Portait of a Distant Land at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Sydney last year (2009). Together with Keith Munro, Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Programs, Maynard developed a simple and elegant wall-work that chronologically mapped what happened to his people (in Tasmania) after the arrival of Dutch navigator, Abel Tasman (who named the island Van Diemen's Land, which it remained known as until 1855) in 1642:















Working with those who experienced or know the histories of The Dirty Mile  - before they all disappear - it would be great to represent the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history of Fitzroy in a similarly simple and elegant way on this blank wall of what was the VAHS but is now unrecognisable as the restaurant and hospitality-industry training centre called Charcoal Lane.

Charcoal Lane

... (from previous page) a restaurant called Charcoal Lane!


















With its Aboriginal flag colours replaced by pristine white paint surfaces, the subtle 'designer-look' of the Charcoal Lane signage above the building's entrance, and the two BMW's out front, Gertrude Street definately seemed to have changed!

Did this mean that the only remnants of its Aboriginal history was this?














(Melbourne Aboriginal Youth, Sport and Recreation Club)

With its 'typical' local council selection of (acknowledged) Indigenous art out the front?



















Having only gone by the clean external 'designer-look' of Charcoal Lane, and knowing nothing of the building's new role, I was wondering if - along with all the other non-Indigenous shops, galleries, restaurants and bars - Gertrude Street needed another smart new upmarket (I was basically thinking 'bourgeois & white') restaurant to replace VAHS?

It was with some indignation that I went back to visit the site (the building) I had chosen to observe for my course, but further investigation revealed a rather pleasant surprise...

Though there was one of those obligatory heritage plaques on the front of the building...














at least SOMETHING acknowledged the history of VAHS (now in a new building a little further than 'around the corner' in Nicholson Street - see: http://www.vahs.org.au).

And on entering the building I found more information that acknowledged the histories of Gertrude Street, Charcoal Lane and VAHS...


















And also...


















So, along with the (always-made-known) presence of the sponsors...













for those who wished to participate, the building still had some role in, and for, the Indigenous community!

The Dirty Mile

In contrast to the sanctioned histories of The Golden Mile and the Aboriginal Heritage Walk, this blog focusses on the relatively little known but various histories of the Indigenous people who lived in and around - or someitmes just visited, with enormous outcomes - the part of Fitzroy once known as the The Dirty Mile (also known as Dirty Gertie).

By "relatively little known" I mean these histories are not widely known in the non-Indigenous population - for the usual reasons (lack of education, not wanting to acknowldedge, not wanting to say SORRY, etc.) - as it is largely associated with the later (post-settlement) and unsanctioned histories associated with the displaced and/or Stolen Generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who moved to or somehow "ended up" in Fitzroy...

From early in Melbourne's history, Fitzroy was settled by the poor, many who worked in the factories in and around Gertrude Street - hence its nickname The Dirty Mile. This included a large Indigenous population who lived in the workers cottages and commission flats (and some in the parks) in and around Fitzroy because they were either: removed from their traditional lands, part of the Stolen Generation, soldiers returning from the war, shipped in as labour, looking for paid employment, and so forth. Gertrude Street became a bit of a gathering place for the local community and those in search of their families/ histories/ identities. The singer Archie Roach (writer and singer of "They took the children away") and his wife Ruby Hunter - who sadly died in February 2010 - both suffered as Stolen Generation children and are part of this history...

In 2005 (re-presented in 2008) the Ilbijerri Theatre Company (Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Co-operative, about to celebrate their 20th anniversary - visit http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/search/?q=Ilbijerri%20anniversary) did a production called The Dirty Mile, taking their audience on a walking tour to revisit noted individuals, locations and moments in Fitzroy's "Aboriginal History".

[see: http://www.ilbijerri.org.au/show.htm]

Note: 'Ilbijerri' is derived from the Woiwurrung Language Group (of the Wurrundjeri, one of the five clans making up the Kulin Nations) that means "Coming Together for Ceremony".

For various historical and socio-political reasons, including the density of Indigenous residents living in and close to Fitzroy, organisations such as the Aboriginal Legal Service and the Aboriginal Housing Board were set-up in and around Fitzroy during and after the politically active period of the late 1960s and early 70s.

You might remember this building in Gertrude Street...?











Since 1973 this was the Victorian Aboriginal Health Servce (VAHS).

But late last year I was shocked to find it had become... (see next page)

Aboriginal Heritage Walk

There are also sanctioned versions of Melbourne's Indigenous histories - which usually concern their histories BEFORE settlement. An example is the tourist walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens, advertised on several tourist websites (such as 'Visit Victoria: http://visitvictoria.com) as follows:

Aboriginal Heritage Walk - Royal Botanical Gardens

See through different eyes with an Aboriginal guide as you walk the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. The award-winning Aboriginal Heritage Walk is a vibrant cultural experience providing visitors with a greater understanding of, and respect for, the rich heritage of the local Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung (Wurundjeri) people. Explore traditional uses of plants for food, medicine, tools and ceremony. Discover the ancestral lands that the Royal Botanic Gardens now occupies.

My intention is not to deny or take away from this form of historical knowledge. Rather, I am questioning which histories are sanctioned, what knowledge is available and how and by whom are these histories presented to the public and/or visitors who are essentially (sometimes mis-) guided by these official histories - as opposed to other aspects of Indigenous history that are hidden, denied, or just not dealt with.

Note: both the Koori Heritage Trust and 'Bunjilaka' - the Aboriginal Cultural Centre at the Melbourne Museum - attempt to inform and educate the public about issues such as these through the collection, preservation and presentation of historical cultural material such as objects, images (paintings, drawings, photographs, etc), notes, oral histories and so forth, but sometimes by being in a museum environment degrees of 'editing' still occur.

Outside of these specific institutional frameworks, the work of many contemporary Indigenous artists addresses numerous and diverse aspects of Indigenous history that are denied/overlooked by the non-Indigenous population eg. see the works exhibited in the inaugural Australian Indigenous Art Triennial exhibition Culture Warriors, curated by Brenda L. Croft at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra: http://nga.gov.au/Exhibition/NIAT07/ - or even better, buy the catalogue!

With the changes occuring in the social and physical landscape of Fitzroy, this blog is concerned with addressing the increasing loss of visual markers/resonances indicating past aspects of Indigenous history in the area through a proposal for an art project to provide a direct visual link for visitors to Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, and the presentation of information to (a) raise awareness of/remind the public(s) outside of the museum environment of this history and perhaps (b) provide links to eg. Bunjilaka at the Melbourne Museum, which is literally 'just down the road'.

The Golden Mile

Melbourne has a sanctioned history of white settlement around what is called The Golden Mile.

A page on the tourist website 'Only Melbourne' advertises an official walk along The Golden Mile thus:

Melbourne's Golden Mile Heritage Trail

Walk ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ and experience how the discovery of gold shaped the city of Melbourne on the Golden Mile Heritage Trail. Witness the majestic architecture and hear stories from your professional guide about the colourful characters of early boom town Melbourne.

Walking tours depart daily from Federation Square or you can walk the trail on your own with a Golden Mile booklet, available from tourism outlets and museums along the trail.

(http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details)

Have you ever noticed these brass markers in the footpath?








These are the markers of the Golden Mile Heritage Trail, which is mapped out below: