Greens to preselect candidate for Richmond

 

I see from ABC North Coast that Mullumbimby  based comedian Mandy Nolan has announced she will be running for preselection as the Greens' candidate for the federal seat of Richmond. The map shows the current boundaries of the seat.

My eye was caught by the announcement in part because I had just written a refection piece triggered by two recent deaths, Reflections on the passage of time - deaths of Mungo MacCallum and Doug Anthony.  Journalist Mungo MacCallum moved to Ocean Shores in the electorate, while Doug Anthony was the former member for Richmond. 

The last part of the introductory course I have been running on the history of the broader New England includes an analysis of the demographic and cultural changes that took place over the last decades of the twentieth century. This included the rise of the counter culture and environmental movements and the sea change population surge to the North Coast. 

The political changes that have taken place in Richmond are part of this process. A once safe Country Party (now National Party) seat was taken by Labor. Labor member Justine Elliot who has held the seat since 2004 now faces a growing challenge from the Greens. 

The graph below shows the progressive decline in the coalition vote since 1983, along with the rise in the Green vote. The Labor vote has bounced around, but has also been reduced by the rise of the Greens. Green preferences have been important in maintaining Labor in power. 

To win the seat, the Greens really need to get in front of Labor. If they can do that, then Labor preferences will carry them to power. At the moment, I doubt that they can do that. 

   

New England Stories - Camp Victory and the Casino Boys

Netherlands East Indies troops march Melbourne 1943

Over the first part of 2017 I wrote a series of posts on my history blog telling a little of the story of Camp Victory and the Casino Boys.

The story begins with the fall of the Netherlands to the Germans and then switches to the Netherlands East Indies where the Dutch Government in exile and the Netherlands East Indies are trying to strengthen local defences in the face of a looming Japanese threat. With the fall of the Netherlands, elements of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) government and forces escape to Australia.

.In Australia a government in exile is created, the only official one ever created on Australian soil, and bases established. One, Camp Victory, was located outside Casino.

Among those who came to Camp Victory in 1945 were a group of young Dutchmen brought to Australia for pilot training. With the war winding down their training was constantly delayed.

As news of the Indonesian declaration of independence reached Australia , Indonesian soldiers serving as part of the NEI forces refused to continue service.

Now fighting to re-establish its control of the East Indies, the NIE government interned the mutinous soldiers. At Camp Victory, the Casino Boys were given basic military training and found themselves guarding troops who weeks before they had been fraternizing with.

The political situation was incredibly messy in Indonesia and in Australia with accusations that Camp Victory had become a concentration camp.

Finally, the interned soldiers were repatriated to Indonesia and most of the Casino Boys returned to Holland to complete their pilot training. There, missing Australia, most made arrangements to return as quickly as possible. They became a tight knit group known to all as the Casino Boys.

The posts that follow only give a taste of the story. They are listed in date order so that you can follow the story through.

• 8 February 2017 New England's role in Indonesian and Netherlands' history. T
• 15 February 2017 Complexities, but fighting for the same cause
• 22 February 2017 A unique wartime solution
• 1 March 2017 The Casino Boys wait for wings
• 8 March 2017  The ripple effect of Indonesia's declaration of independence
• 15 March 2017 State of chaos after surrender
• 22 March 2017 Sad final days of Casino's Camp Victory

The Western Bundjalung Native Title Decision

The photograph from ABC North Coast shows some of the traditional owners gathered to hear the Federal Court’s decision on the Western Bundjalung Native Title Case.

This post discusses the Federal Courts decision on the West Bundjalung application for Native Title under the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993. I have given some links within the post, with the major media sources I have drawn from listed at the end of the post. The Federal Legislation is different from the NSW Aboriginal Land Right Act 1983 that, among other things, granted NSW Aboriginal peoples certain land rights and provides for the administration of that land including the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and Local Land Councils.

By way of background especially for international readers, the Bundjalung are one of New England’s biggest language groups whose territory stretched from the Clarence River onto the Northern Tablelands and into what is now Queensland. There are a number of Bundjalung dialects whose speakers occupy major territories within the overall territory.

The map gives an indication of the full Bundjalung territory.

The Decision

Tabulam, 29 August 2017.Around 400 people including traditional owners gathered in a crowded marquee erected on the local racecourse as a temporary courthouse to hear the consent determination delivered in the long-running Western Bundjalung Native Title case.

After a Welcome to Country and traditional smoking ceremony, Federal Court Judge Jayne Jagot delivered her consent judgement. This granted the native title claim, legally recognising the rights and interest of the Western Bundjalung people as traditional owners of the land, including the right to camp, hunt, fish, gather resources and conduct their cultural practices on their country, as well as the right to be consulted on matters including mining applications on their land that affect the management of their land. You can find the full decision here.

The Western Bundjalung determination is the 10th in NSW since the Native Title Act came into force in 1993.

While not very clear, the map provides an indication of the scope of country covered by the determination.  

Western Bundjalung territory extends from the Clarence River at Moleville, north of Grafton, to Carpet Snake Creek, north of Tabulam, and from the Hogarth Range in the east to Bald Rock National Park in the west.

It includes the Aboriginal settlements at Baryulgil, Malabugilmah, Jubullam Village and Jubal. The two main water courses of Western Bundjalung country are the Clarence River and the Rocky River.

The claim area covers more than 5,000 square kilometres and contains 24 national parks, nature reserves and state conservation areas. A total of 820 land identification areas have been granted native title within the Western Bundjalung claim boundary.

This includes all national parks and state forests within the claim perimeter. However, there are some lots within the parks and forests that are not having native title recognised because investigation showed that it was freehold land  which extinguishes native title.

A long and arduous process

The path to the consent determination has been long and complicated.

In the 1990s, some six native title claims were lodged for different portions of land within the Western Bundjalung nation. It wasn't until 2011 that the descendants of about 19 apical (literally sitting at the apex) ancestors from the area united to lodge a combined claim.

From that point, the claimants had to establish that they that they were descended from apical ancestors living within the claim area prior to British settlement. They had also to establish a continuing cultural connection with the land handed down over the generations since the Europeans occupied the land.

To achieve this, a research team supported by the NTSCorp conducted anthropological interviews and undertook research to establish genealogy and cultural connection and continuity. 

Dr Ken Lum, NTSCorp Research Manager, said the group's evidence to prove their continuing connection to country was strong.

"Numerous claimants gave affidavits about the connection to country including information about Dreaming stories and continuing cultural practices such as turtle diving," he said.

In addition to the evidence required to establish the basis of claim, land tenure research is required to determine where native title could be established to avoid clashes with freehold titles

Once the evidence has been agreed on between the claimants and the relevant government bodies the claim is determined in the High Court or the Federal Court.

In all, more than 250 people, including indigenous elders and community members, were involved in the native title negotiations for parcels of land within the Western Bundjalung nation..

The process is complex even when all parties agree. A report released by the National Native Title Tribunal in 2009 said native title claims take an average of six years to resolve in the Federal Court when all parties agree.

The high levels of evidence needed to prove native title coupled with lengthy court processes and cost have been cited among the main factors that delay native title determinations.

In delivering her judgement, Federal Court Justice Jagot stated that the native title process was still taking too long in New South Wales.

"It's taken six years to get here from the filing of the claim and many years I know in the lead up to the making of that claim," she said. "They've not been easy years".

"I believe that this does perpetuate injustice by other means."

Reaction

I have drawn together a number of the responses reported in the various media reports.

Gary Brown, a member of one of 10 families who made the joint Western Bundjalung claim, said the unified approach adopted by himself and the other applicants could be the key to getting other claims considered in a more timely manner.

"I think we might set a precedent here," he said. "Where others can be able to look at our claim, and say, pick a few things out of it. So it will be good for them to go ahead."

Applicant Joan Hippi cried tears of joy as the determination was made. "First and foremost, I wish to acknowledge the land we stand on today cause it is a foundation for social, economic and employment outcomes for our future generations," she said. "This is a big thing for us today. This is the start of a new beginning."

Applicant Dave Walker said he would celebrate in the best way he knew how.

"I might just sleep … sleep on my land down here tonight on the side of the river," he said. "I've got no blanket or anything but I'll just go down and make a fire and just sit up and enjoy it, I think. Because it's our land."

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) welcomed the decision. Tina Williams, NSWALC councillor for the North Coast, said the determination provided rights and recognition for future generations.

‘The Western Bundjalung determination strengthens our connection to country and our ability to teach culture,’ she said. ‘While the claim was lodged in 2011, the fight for land justice and recognition goes back a long way.

‘Our Elders fought tirelessly for this day and I pay respect to those who sadly passed away while the claim was being determined.”

Cr Williams said the determination also showed how Land Rights and Native Title could work together. Today is a great day for Land Rights and Native Title. We may operate under different legislation and systems but we work together.

Jubullum, Baryulgil, Casino Boolange, Grafton Ngerrie, Moombahlene and Jana Ngalee Local Aboriginal Land Councils have been part of this journey.‘When Native Title and Land Rights work together, we can focus on the bigger picture of building our people economically, social and culturally.’

In my introduction, I mentioned that the NSW Land Rights Act and the Federal Native Title legislation both applied in NSW in different ways. The NSWALC and the Local Aboriginal Land Councils are established under the NSW Act.

Terry Robinson is honoured to be looking after his ancestors' country. "Our country, our Jugun, has looked after us and it is now our turn to look after country."

The Native Title Services Corporation (now NTSCorp) has supported the claimants through the processes to gain Native Title. Chief executive Natalie Rotumah, herself a Bundjalung woman, credited the hard work of the western Bundjalung community for their commitment to securing native title.

She paid respect to those original claimants who had passed away since the claim was lodged. “It has been a long fight begun by my grandparents and the other Elders of that generation for recognition as Western Bundjalung Traditional Owners".

Next Steps

This victory is just the first step for the Western Bundjalung. They have to decide how to manage their new rights and responsibilities.

As a first step, the group have established the Ngullingah Jugun (Our Country) Aboriginal Corporation to manage their native title rights and interests. The Corporation will play a key role in representing Western Bundjalung people's interests in negotiations with government and private organisations.

Claimant Graeme Walker said the corporation will be used as a vehicle to have their rightful say about the management of their land. "Any businesses looking to do work in Western Bundjalung country should be coming to us first and we are looking forward to working with them," he said.

There is a difficulty here. While Prescribed Body Corporates are intended to establish an economic base for native title holders on their country, they have not been adequately funded by the Federal Government and has a consequence have struggled to carry out their roles, to maximise the gains that might flow from the native Title decisions.

There is also an issue as to how Ngullingah Jugun Aboriginal Corporation might mesh with the NSW Land Rights system, including the Local Aboriginal Land Council. This will need to be resolved through discussion.

Media Sources:

• Northern Star, 26 August 2017, 800 land areas subject to landmark native title decision
• Northern Star, 26 August 2017, The long fights for native title in New South Wales
• ABC,. 29 August 2017, Western Bundjalung Native Title granted as Federal Court judge criticises process as too slow
• The Echo, 30 August 2017, Native Title granted to Western Bundjalung
• NITV News, 31 August 2017, Landmark native title win for Western Bundjalung 

Mullumbimby: a case study in the unexpected outcomes of protest

The photo shows a demonstration in Mullumbimby against  the building of a Woolworth's store in the town. The photo comes from an interesting story in the Sydney Morning Herald by Malcolm Knox: How Woolworths overcame local opposition and set up a supermarket near Mullumbimby.

In very simple terms, a local family wanted to build a supermarket in the town, part of Byron Shire, but faced fierce opposition. Finally, they sold the project out to Woolworths who with time, money and connections were able to go around the protestors. The end result was a bigger store owned outside the town.

This is hardly the result the protestors wanted. I suspect if asked to make a choice between a locally owned store and a bigger store owned by Woolworths, they would have opted for the first very quickly. But then, that's a retrospective view. Having won on the first count, they expected to win on the second as well.

Apparent demise of North Coast Voices

It is remiss of me not to have mentioned this before, but on 17 May North Coast Voices ceased publication. I quote from the final post:

Due to events beyond our control North Coast Voices will not be posting until further notice. 

For this we apologize to all our regular readers and to those that just drop by from time to time on a whim.

The first NCV post was on 9 October 2007. Since then, they have kept a stream of posts going, generally from a Green left perspective.

Sometimes NCV used to annoy the hell out of me, but I will still miss them.

The end was very abrupt. There were two earlier posts on 17 May and then, suddenly, came the final post. All three were posted in the early hours of the morning within a short time of each other. It was like a snap, something that I can understand.

I have no idea what the problem was/is. I can only offer my thoughts and a deep felt wish that things sort themselves out.  

Northern Rivers Energy – power to the locals

A short note to record something that I don’t have time to follow up now.

The ABC reports that Byron Bay residents are pushing for Australia's first community-owned clean energy generator. I am not sure that it is the first, I saw a reference earlier to a Victorian plan, but it’s still an interesting concept; a regional not-for-profit energy company - Northern Rivers Energy – that hopes to rival the big retailers.

We love South Grafton

For those on Facebook, Ursh Tunks has started a new Facebook page called "We love South Grafton". The drawing shows the building that was Earle Page's private hospital.

Ursh describes her purpose in this way:

I figure that we need to band together to promote our beautiful little heritage listed village and the township of South Grafton. That doesn't detract from being part of the Clarence Valley Community it merely allows us to celebrate the beauty, sense of community, ingenuity and strength of character of those on our side of the mighty Clarence.

That makes a lot of sense to me, for South Grafton's own history and character has become a little submerged. Expect a little of South Grafton's history from time to time.

Gordon Smith's Nymboida River

I accept that posting on this blog has become sadly irregular. Getting back into the mode, I realised that it had been some time since I ran one of Gordon Smith's photos.

The Nymboida River rises in the the northern foothills of New England's Barren Mountain (1,370 m, 4,495 ft) and then descends 1,250 metres (4,100 ft) over its 165 kilometres (103 mile course). It seems so peaceful in Gordon's photo taken at Nymboida , but parts of this river are a major white river rafting venue. This photo is taken at the little village of Nymboida in the Clarence Valley about  40k south west from Grafton.    

Start of the 52nd Inverell Grafton cycling classic

I am feeling lazy tonight. I was going to add a companion post to The TAS year of 1962 - Brian Harrison remembers because I think it important for we New Englanders too know the detail of our past, of our remarkable history. It's just so rich and it is ours.  Still, I am out of time and have to answer many emails before I go to bed. So I am going to free-ride of Mark!

The following photo shows riders gathered at the start of the 52nd Inverell to Grafton Cycling classic. This is, I think, the oldest and one of the toughest cycling road races in Australia. Long may it continue!

New England's hippy country

Mark's Clarence Valley Today continues as a superb photo blog about life in Northern New South Wales, the broader New England that I write about. The Northern Rivers are partially hippy country. This bus is an example. 

Social change, footloose industries and the closure of the Goonellabah Call Centre

In my writing on the social and economic history of New England I traced some of the economic and social changes that swept across the broader New England over the second half of the twentieth century. The pace of change accelerated with the passage of time and has continued to accelerate.

In July, we had the protests over the threatened closure of Grafton Jail. The photo from the Daily Examiner shows one part of the protest. Now we have the decision by Telstra to close its Lismore Goonellabah Call Centre on October 23 this year with the loss of 116 positions. North Coast Voices has reproduced a copy of the combined letter of protest to Telstra from the Mayor and State and Federal members.

One of the features of the changes over time is the constant claims that these changes will offer benefits in terms of improved services and new local business opportunities and yet, somehow, it never seems to happen. The call centre case is especially interesting in that call centre operations were seen as the new holy grail to replace other losses. Get a call centre to compensate. Now as a consequence of continuing change in the on-line world, the rise of self-service internet transactions, that holy grail has proved to have a very short half life indeed.

Call centres are examples of what I call migratory or footloose economic activities, activities that are actually location independent and rise, fall and shift with changes in relative economics. The rise of these activities was a central feature of the last two decades of the twentieth century.

I don't have an answer. I don't think there is a complete answer. But I do know that it is very difficult for any form of purely local response or protest to have a real impact.

Further south over the escarpment from Lismore, the NBN (National Broadband Network) is seen as one solution to Armidale's problems and, more broadly, the solution to service delivery problems created by distance. A lot of us have doubts.

You will get a feel of this from a post I did on my personal blog, Saturday Morning Musings - UNE alumni dinner. Will on-line delivery provide a growth opportunity for UNE or will it become another step in the progressive decline of the North? This photo from that post shows VC Barber under alumni questioning.

In the years that I have been writing this blog, I have consistently argued that the rise of localism, the fall in the broader sense of Northern identity, limits our capacity to respond to the challenge of constant change.

Outside the Northern Rivers and perhaps even Lismore itself, there is no appetite for support. The closure is seen as a local problem, one without relevance to concerns elsewhere. That's a problem. United we may fall, but divided we shall surely hang.

One of the difficulties that people have, one that I know that I have despite my own knowledge and experience, is simply the difficulty in understanding just what is happening.

In my professional capacity, I first wrote on the rise of footloose industries in the 1980s. I didn't believe that the outcomes of the new technologies would be as so commonly presented. As best I could, I posed a blunt question to those in Sydney and Melbourne who talked so glibly of the opportunities opening up. What made them believe that in the absence of effective planning, Australia would benefit? Surely it was more likely that Australia as a whole would go through the experiences that South Australia or New England had already experienced, a decline in relevance?

I don't want to discuss the detailed economics of it all in this post, just to record another New England loss and to make a continuing plea for the need for a broader vision.  

Rower Henry Searle New England's first world champion

Until I read Mark's Henry Searle - Australia's First World Champion, I had no idea that New England had a world champion rower from the late 1880s. And no, Mark, I don't know where the Sydney monument is!

Read Mark's post to find out more. 

 

Grafton to Inverell cycling classic turns 51

One of Australia's oldest road races is the Grafton to Inverell Cycling Classic has just turned 51. Clarence Valley Today was there to record the start.  

This is a pretty but rugged race that crawls up the escarpment from Grafton, runs across the New England Tablelands and then down to Inverell. Mark's posts are:

• Grafton to Inverell Cycle Classic 2011
• The Race of Life Must Go On

Rod's Northern Rivers geology blog

I sometimes feel blessed with our fellow bloggers.

A few weeks ago I was driving eldest to work and said that I was trying to learn something about geology. She laughed and rolled her eyes! Geology is not one of her pet interests.

My problem is that I need to learn something about geology to explain elements of New England's life and history. As always by New England I mean the broader New England, not just the Tablelands. So I have been struggling away trying to come to grips with terms, trying to sketch a geological history. Now I have received a message from Rod wondering whether I would be interested in his new blog on the geology of the Northern Rivers.

Interested? I could kiss him on both cheeks! Further, it's not just me that is likely to be interested. I immediately thought of two of my favourite picture bloggers, Gordon on the Tablelands, Mark on the Clarence Valley. Both add background to their photos.

If Rod keeps going, I suspect that he will become a real resource for the rest of us. Rod's blog is Northern Rivers (NSW) Geology. Hey, I will even forgive him for adding NSW in the title!

Rod will probably need to do a bit of educating for the rest of us. Things like simple blind freddy overviews. 

Please visit. In the meantime, I have added the blog to my must read list. 

Grafton's Gate to Plate

Just a short post today.

With 320 guests, 10 courses and matching wines from the Granite Belt served over 4 hours, Grafton's Gate to Plate is, to quote Mark, a gastronomic marathon celebrated in the historic 'Barn'.

You will find Mark's photos of the event here:

• The Barn - Tin Temple of Good Times
• Gate to Plate
• Gate to Plate: The Seafood Courses
• Gate to Plate: Behind the Scenes

I really would love to have gone. I feel quite envious!

Memories from a Glenreagh past

I found this rather wonderful history video via the Glenreagh community blog. 

For those who don't know where the village is, it is the south western gateway to the Clarence Valley, a half hour drive along the Orara Way from Grafton (in the north) and Coffs Harbour (to the south east), through the picturesque Orara Valley. From Armidale, we would drive down through Dorrigo.

I do recommend it to you. It's fun.

New England Shows - Grafton woodchopping

Over the years, I have written a lot on New England shows.

This spectacular shot from Mark shows woodchopping at the Grafton show.

Timber was a very big industry in Grafton.

The story of the New England timber industry has yet to be written. Perhaps one day! 

New England Aboriginal life - Cultural connections, Bundjalung

Note to readers: This is the seventh in a continuing series introducing readers to past and present Aboriginal life in New England. Those who are interested can find a full list of posts by either clicking New England Aboriginal life or, if you want, to read in date order from one up, click on Introducing New England Aboriginal life.

In my last post I mentioned how Aboriginal sounds and music have had a great influence on the broader Australian ear. As an example, I used music inspired by the Bundjalung people from New England's Northern Rivers.

The following very short clip called cultural connections deals with the links between the Bundjalung people and their land. It starts with spoken Bundjalung. In New England Aboriginal life - sounds of Gamilaraay, I said in part:

To the untrained ear, Australia's Aboriginal languages sound much the same. It's a bit like French, Spanish and Italian and their myriad dialects.

If you listen to this and then Gamilaraay, you will see what I mean.

The clip was prepared for primary schools. The NSW Education Department actually does a a pretty good job in presenting Aboriginal material.

My complaint, call it prejudice if you like, is that too much Aboriginal material is jammed down kids' throats without context beyond that of the injustices done to the Aborigines. The Aborigines as people vanish.

 

New England Aboriginal life - Bundjalung by Aramis

Note to readers: This is the sixth in a continuing series introducing readers to past and present Aboriginal life in New England. Those who are interested can find a full list of posts by either clicking New England Aboriginal life or, if you want, to read in date order from one up, click on Introducing New England Aboriginal life.

New England's Aboriginal peoples love all sorts of music, although country and rap are especially deadly. Deadly means cool, great.

Aboriginal sounds and music have a great influence on the broader Australian ear. The sound of the didgerdoo are instantly recognisable to any Australian. This piece by Aramis is simply called Bundjalung.

The Bundjalung are the New England Aboriginal language group whose territory extended from the northern banks of the Clarence River into what is now called Southern Queensland. While many of the Bundjalung dialects collapsed through the process of language destruction that I described in New England Aboriginal life - process of language destruction, Bundjalung is still spoken today.

Victory Camp & the Casino Boys

In Bellingen, writing, obituaries and skills I referred to the obituary by Strath Gordon of Dutch born Jack Dalmayer. I quote from that obituary:

In July, 1945, Dalmayer found himself in a camp in the northern NSW town of Casino, an establishment known as the ''Victory Camp'', which had been declared Dutch territory by the Australian government early in the war and was occupied by the 1st Battalion, Netherlands East Indies Army, consisting of Dutch and Indonesian soldiers. The new group came to be known as ''The Dutch Boys'' or ''The Casino Boys''. But a month later, the war in the Pacific ended.

The Casino Boys, to put it mildly, were at a loose end. The RAAF had no further interest in them. With the proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945, many of the Indonesians felt they could no longer serve under Dutch command. The Australian union movement, supporting independence, refused to allow the Dutch servicemen to be shipped to the East Indies.

The Dutch colonial administration started jailing citizens who refused to serve with the Dutch armed forces. They chose Victory Camp to incarcerate them along with Indonesians who had been training as airmen. Suddenly the Dutch who had been training for war found themselves guarding former colleagues.

Relationships between the prisoners and their guards were relaxed. The Dutch Boys began to take part in the Casino social scene, seeing movies and playing sport. Eventually, the Indonesian soldiers were allowed to return home and the Dutch were sent back to the Netherlands.

As I said at the time, I had no knowledge of this camp, nor of the Dutch or Casino Boys, so I did some digging around.

This photo shows, I think, a picture of Dutch Surinam soldiers at the camp. 

I didn't find a lot on-line, but what I did sounds interesting. As the obituary suggests, Casino and the camp became embroiled in the Indonesian struggle for independence. The references I have so far found:

• Workers Online, issue 106, 10 August 2001
• Connie Healy, Recollections of the 'Black Armada' in Brisbane, Vintage Reds
• Rupert Lockwood, The Indonesian Exiles in Australia, 1942-47, Indonesia
  Vol. 10, (Oct., 1970), pp. 37-56.

• Suriname in WW II

Not a lot, but enough to hint at an interesting story. I wondered if any readers might know more.