17/7/01
An historic agreement, recognising an important Aboriginal site on land for a new Primary School in Swanbourne, has been signed by Nyungah Elders and Education Minister Alan Carpenter today.
The agreement marks the culmination of nearly three years of negotiation between 18 Nyungah Elders and the Education Department and relates to an important Aboriginal site in the area of Lake Claremont, formerly known as Butlers Swamp.
The registered Aboriginal site is a homeground of significance to Nyungah people of the Swan River and Swan Coastal plain and has been home to Nyungah people from one generation to another.
In the 1930s and 1940s it was still home to a number of Nyungah families, including Elders who are alive today.
As part of the agreement, there will be a pilot program to present Nyungah history to students at the school.
"It will be the true history of how the land was taken and what happened thereafter to the Nyungah people," Nyungah Elder Robert Bropho said.
The pilot program will be part of the Social Studies curriculum at the Swanbourne Primary School and will be presented by Nyungah Elders.
The State Government and the Elders have also agreed to:
- incorporate a Nyungah History and Archive section in the Primary School library reflecting the significance of the Swanbourne area. Other schools will be able to use the section;
- set aside a two-hectare Cultural Ground as bushland on the existing north-east oval with an emphasis on using it to raise awareness in the school and general community of the significance of Nyungah culture;
- the Government to consider building a separate Nyungah history and archive area at the Primary School or on the area set aside as a Cultural Ground; and
- both parties to consult on educational matters and a number of other issues including the management and use of the cultural ground.
Prior to completion of the agreement, ground probing radar tests were completed over the area to help determine if Aboriginal artefacts or ancestral remains risked being unearthed during the construction of the new Primary School.
All works on the site have been monitored by Nyungah Elders to ensure that any artefacts or remains found are treated in a culturally appropriate manner.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Alan Carpenter welcomed the historic agreement, which he said would help strengthen the partnership between Government and the Aboriginal community.
"It will also help local school students and the community learn the true history and importance of this land to the Nyungah people," he said.
The parties were assisted in their negotiations and drafting of the agreement by mediator Marcus Holmes of Deacons Lawyers, solicitor Carolyn Tan of Dwyer Durack and the Crown Solicitor's Office.
Media contacts:
Owen Cole - Office of the Minister for Indigenous Affairs - 9213 6800
Noel Morich - West Australian Aboriginal Media Association - 9325 1622
