The City of Melbourne has put its hand out for state government help to fund a poignant $3.2 million tribute to the Stolen Generations because it cannot cover the cost by itself.
Advocates have warned that funding must be secured urgently so ageing survivors can witness the memorial in their lifetimes, but a shortfall of at least $700,000 could mean further delays to the project.
It comes as ever-escalating cost blowouts on a controversial kangaroo statue in Southbank continue to soak up the city’s public art budget.
A report recommending the council push ahead with the Stolen Generations Market will be presented at Tuesday night’s Future Melbourne Committee meeting, outlining a July 2027 completion date for the memorial at Peppercorn Lawn on the banks of the Yarra.
Designed by leading Victorian Aboriginal artist Maree Clarke, Mitch Mahoney, and OCULUS Studio, the installation will feature 39 bronze sculptures of Aboriginal children and a smoking pit set within a native landscape.
Melbourne’s recent budget allocated $4.5 million for all of its public art projects including the Stolen Generations Marker.
At least $2m of that allocation, however, is already set down for a controversial kangaroo statue in Southbank, which has ballooned into a four sculpture installation costing more than $22m.
The remaining $2.5m in the latest public art budget does not cover the total $3.2m bill of the Stolen Generations Marker, leaving the council to lobby state and federal governments, as well as corporate and philanthropic partners to cover the cost.
However, Stolen Generations advocacy groups are warning that Melbourne needs to press the accelerator on the project before survivors miss the chance to see it.
In a letter sent to the council, Connecting Home chief executive Lisa Zammit expressed serious worries over the project’s timeline and recent delays.
“My greatest concern with the current anticipated time delays is the ageing of Stolen Generations Survivors,” she wrote.
“Connecting Home now sees time as the essence in any work and project we complete as we recognise the vulnerability and fragility of survivors,” Ms Zammit told council.
Connecting Home is a support service for survivors of the Stolen Generations.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece described the initiative as a monumental step for the community that needed broader financial backing to succeed.
“This will be the most significant marker of its kind in Victoria. It will be a place of healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and future generations as well as a place truth-telling and learning for the broader community,” Mr Reece said.
“We cannot change what happened, but we are committed to honouring and supporting our Aboriginal community today.”
Mr Reece stressed that delivering the project should be a shared governmental responsibility, and not funded by Melbourne ratepayers alone.
“A project like this deserves to have the backing and support of State and Federal Governments – and we are engaging with them to deliver a project of national significance.”
The project will also cost a further $20,000 in ongoing annual maintenance for the management of the new native landscape.
The Stolen Generations were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families, land, and culture by government authorities between 1910 and the 1970s.
Council originally committed to this project in 2022, following a Victorian Government steering committee report, to address the deep harm caused by these past removal policies.
The Victorian government was approached to check if it would help fund the memorial.