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)