First encounters - A clash of two cultures. A story in a garden
Martin O'Dea
Principal landscape architect at CLOUSTON Associates, a division of Beveridge Williams
23 years ago I had the privilege of working on what became the “Cadi Jam Ora” garden in the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Translated as “Welcome to Cadi” (Welcome to Gadigal land) the projects working title was the “First Encounters Garden”.?It marked a commitment in 1997 by the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust to Aboriginal reconciliation.
Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander readers are advised that this post may contain names but not images of deceased persons.
Our challenge from the brief was to develop a garden with a $70K budget that could:
The site chosen was the first farm section, situated within the earliest, formal (and heritage listed) gridded section of the Royal Botanic Gardens.?The challenge here was to develop a garden that had meaning and significance to the Aboriginal people, in a landscape heavily laden with European culture.
The Rock Shelf / Meeting Place
Through discussion, the key idea was that this should be a meeting place where Aboriginal people could tell their stories, rather than the garden having to be the story.? ?To do this we needed space and to break down the overpowering grid over the garden.?
We decided to peel away the European layers and insert the idea of a rock shelf within what would’ve been beautiful Sydney sandstone country. To get it through heritage approval we had to acknowledge the the former grid with a pavement marker.
Face to face contact is the best way to tell a story and a major recommendation was an Aboriginal liaison officer, the first being John Lennis, as an Indigenous guide, and interpreter for the Gardens. John was featured in the garden, on the cover of the 2002 Sydney white pages (remember those) which was distributed to almost every household in Sydney.
As this was Sydney and not a central desert dot pointing, we also proposed the idea to the aboriginal community that the rock outcrop could also be a place where contemporary rock art could be engraved.
July 1999 concept sketch above, and same view in January 2022 but from opposite angle below. The Sandstone rock shelf is weathering now and not as distinctive as when first laid.
We envisaged this could be stories about Aboriginal deaths in custody, the stolen generation and so forth.?While the rock shelf idea gained strong support from the Aboriginal community, Uncle Allen Madden said that it would send the wrong message for people to be able to walk on a rock art site so the engraving idea was dropped.
Plan view above from 1999 presentation drawing; View south from the Rock shelf in 2022, with maturing angophora costata and grass trees planted in 2002.
While we had to retain some key trees, we added new Angophora costata and Xanthorrhoea australis, as key visual identifiers - sculpturally very Australian and important plants to the Gadigal people. They are thriving after 20 years.
The Timeline: 60,000+ years of continous heritage
To connect the rock shelf and further break down the European grid we inserted a diagonal path facilitating a natural desire line through to the Art Gallery gate.
We proposed a simple sign curve path, with the timeline on one side. The timeline tells the incredible story of continuous 60,000 + years of culture. In my opinion this date is conservative. The Torres Straight is very shallow ( approx 7-15m ) and sea levels started dropping about 125,000 years ago.
We also wanted to ensure that it told the uncomfortable, confronting and unvarnished story of the impact of European occupation.?The story line graphic was developed in house by the Royal Botanic Gardens in consultation with the Aboriginal community, who contributed stories and content.
I first saw the outcome of the storyline on opening day and it was powerfully done. It didn’t pull any punches. It tells of 60,000 years, but also of the invasion and dispossession, of being ravaged by small pox from 1789-1791, voting, land rights, Mabo, and other contemporary stories.?We have been told by RBG staff that this is one piece of interpretation that visitors actually stop and read.? There is always someone reading it.
First Farm Failure
The first farm in 1788, was a complete disaster.?The ground proved difficult to clear, and the 500 tools purchased en-route in Rio de Janeiro were woefully constructed and regularly broke, or were stolen by convicts.?The First Fleets Surgeon, John White commented in 1790, “It will scarcely be credited when it be known that I have employed twelve men for five days in grubbing out a single tree”.?Consequently the trees were felled, but the stumps remained.?
We wanted to convey this idea and convinced the botanic gardens to include three huge tree stumps which they sourced from Mount Thomah Botanic Gardens. We were very pleased that the gardens run with this idea and put dead tree trunks in a botanic garden! They were there for about a decade but have since unfortunately been removed.? They even planted the corn the wrong time of year, so they looked sickly and struggling.
领英推荐
When the British colonists came to planting, without the horticulturist who did not get on board at Rio, they were facing an uphill battle.?Planting wheat and corn in May when you would normally plant it in the UK, had the plants growing into a Sydney winter, and not a Summer.?While the sandstone bushland looked rich, the soil supporting it was extremely poor for horticultural needs.?Carig Burton has theorised that 1788 was an El Nino year, and it meant that the 200 bushells of corn planted only reaped 20 bushells.?The convicts and colonists would have been better off eating the precious seeds!
Perhaps my favourite project in 33 years of practice
Of 33 years in practice, it is possibly my favourite project. It was done for an extremely modest fee of $10,000. All the drawings were hand drawn, with design principles provided. Our concept drawings leveraged the original $75,000 construction budget to about $400,000 which was donated by friends of the RBG.?While we were not involved anywhere after documentation, it was beautifully built by Marsupial Landscapes, and Karen at the RBG and Cunneen signs did a magnificent job of complex conical / reverse cone triangular storyline.?
The Garden won the Award for Excellence from Interpretation Australia in 2002.
Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.
PROJECT TEAM
Indigenous consultation Community leaders
Client: Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney?Client and project managers.
Image above: Opening Day 15th May 2002. Image Below. 2007
Planning and cultural research
AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM BUSINESS SERVICES?
Design and documentation team
CLOUSTON Associates
Image above 2022, Image Below Same area but aerial view in May 2002.
Construction
Environmental Psychologist & Independent Scholar
3 年I can see why you are proud of the project, Martin. I liked the way it was pointed out that it would not be respectful to walk on even contemporary engravings. What I now wonder, is why the dead stumps were eventually removed.
Bushfire Technical Lead at Covey Associates
3 年Great article Martin O'Dea , I enjoyed reading about the story behind the design and the garden.
Kamilaroi-Professor (Science) at University of Technology, Sydney
3 年Great project and good to see brother John Lennis acknowledged may he Rest In Peace and greatness