Cultural installation tells the complex stories of the Palm Island community
The Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council engaged GHD to develop concept designs for a new cultural installation along the island’s foreshore, allowing the Palm Island community to tell their story through their own voices.
Palm Island, located off the coast, 65 kilometres north of Townsville in Queensland, Australia, holds a rich and complex history. Originally inhabited by the Manbarra people, the island first came into European contact in 1770 when Captain Cook named the Palm Island group. It was designated as an Aboriginal reserve in 1914 and later served as a ‘penitentiary for troublesome cases’ during the Protection Era, a period marked by government control over Aboriginal lives.
The island became a place of exile and punishment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people forcibly removed from their lands. Many were sent there for being deemed ‘troublemakers’ or due to the destruction of the Hull River Mission at Tully. The relocation of over 40 different language groups to Palm Island caused significant unrest due to the forced cohabitation of multiple Nations.
The first superintendent, Robert Henry Curry, established control by instructing residents to clear the land. White residents, including schoolteachers and storekeepers, lived in a separate section built by Aboriginal residents. The Indigenous community faced strict controls and worked for rations instead of wages. It wasn’t until the 1970s that government controls over Palm Island were lifted, following decades of strikes, protests and activism.
In more recent history, Palm Island was controversially labelled the “most violent place on earth outside of a combat zone” by the 1999 Guinness World Records, a claim disputed by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council and the Queensland Government.
In 2022, the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council engaged GHD to develop concept designs for a new cultural installation along the island’s foreshore. This cultural installation consists of an informative walkway that runs for about 260 metres, starting at the jetty and finishing before the Palm Island Bistro.
Featured along the way are over 20 stories displayed on information boards that capture the past, present and future visions from the Palm Island community. There are also sections for new sculptures and artwork, as well as existing monuments to help tell these stories. The walkway itself is designed as snakes along the foreshore representing the Garbul (carpet snake) dreaming story of the Manbarra people. This project aimed to allow the Palm Island community to tell their story through their own voices.
The project team faced several challenges, including maintaining awareness of community dynamics, balancing trauma and truth-telling, and making sure the design created a space for the entire community while staying true to the stories presented.
The solution was found after our project team paid multiple visits to the island, spending time to understand the community and their stories. Internal collaboration was key to applying a First Nations lens to design elements and handling historical stories with sensitivity.
A highlight of the community engagement was hosting a Kup Murri with help from the local men’s group. A Kup Murri is a traditional cooking method used by Torres Strait Islander and Australian Aboriginal communities. It involves an underground earthen oven, where food is cooked using a coal base and then buried. The food is typically wrapped in leaves, such as banana or coconut leaves, and placed in the ground oven to cook slowly.
At GHD, our enterprise strategic growth initiative, Future Communities, underscores our mission to help clients address, manage, and mitigate the impacts of complex, often convergent forces, supporting their strategic ambitions and community aspirations. This project highlighted that while Palm Island’s story is unique, their experience with colonialism is not. Many communities across Australia have not had the opportunity to tell their own stories. As industry professionals, we have the power to advocate for projects that go beyond ticking a box, giving all communities the chance to tell their truth.”
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