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The Australian Hall on Elizabeth Street is a heritage building built in the Federation Romanesque architectural style. It was erected between 1910 and 1913 as a club for German migrants, known as the Concordia. The Knights of the Southern Cross, a right-wing Catholic fraternal lay group, purchased it in 1920 and constructed the Australian Hall in the building. They sold it in 1979 to the Hellenic Club and Greek Cypriots used it as the Cyprus Hellene Club. This is the site of the first national Aboriginal civil rights gathering convened by the Aborigines Progressive Association and held in 1938, known as the “Day of Mourning”. The building was purchased in 1999 by the Metropolitan Aboriginal Association Incorporated and refurbished, with the hall restored to its 1938 state. It is the first non-Aboriginal structure to be recognised in Australia as an Aboriginal heritage site. NAIDOC week, which this year runs from 3rd July to 11th July, is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and an opportunity to recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.
A group of Aboriginal buskers can usually be found at Circular Quay making music using a didgeridoo and clapsticks. Last week, NAIDOC Week celebrations were held across Australia to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Gadigal Information Service and Koori Radio are located in this office building in the inner city suburb of Redfern. The Gadigal Information Service was established in 1993 and became an incorporated Aboriginal association to provide a community based media, arts and information service for the Indigenous community in Sydney. Koori Radio 2LND 93.7FM is Sydney's only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander full-time community radio station. The indigenous art design on the louvred exterior is based on the 1968 play The Cherry Pickers by indigenous playwright Kevin Gilbert. This was originally the site of the Black Theatre, the first Aboriginal theatre in Sydney.
The Robyn Webster Sports Centre located in the suburb of Tempe features outdoor netball courts and indoor netball, volleyball and soccer courts. The Aboriginal mural painted on the outside of the building is called 'Gift Given' and features fish, lizards, snakes, men and women in diamond formations. It is the largest mural in the Southern hemisphere and the detailed walls and roof are a landmark for planes landing at nearby Sydney Airport. I chose to feature this Aboriginal artwork today because this week in Australia is NAIDOC week, which is a time to celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians.
CarriageWorks is a multi-venue arts centre dedicated to the development and presentation of contemporary arts. CarriageWorks is housed in the old Eveleigh railway yards (top) and features theatre spaces, gallery and exhibition spaces, rehearsal rooms, a scenery workshop and office space. The inner city suburbs of Redfern, Eveleigh and Darlington have a high indigenous population and Yaama Dhinawan (left) is a training, community and function centre located on the Carriage Works site. According to the 2006 Census, 2.4% of the Australian population reported having Aboriginal or Indigenous ancestry. I didn't have many photos with an indigenous theme that I could use for my Harmony Day theme this week, so I need to rectify that soon.
