Traditional owners in Coffs Harbour are fighting against a \u201cheartbreaking\u201d proposal to build a six-storey private housing development near cultural heritage sites, in a project the state government says will \u201crevitalise\u201d the city\u2019s foreshore.<\/p>\n
The proposal, still in the early planning stages, would see up to 250 residential dwellings and 200 short-stay units built on two \u201cunderutilised\u201d lots within the 60-hectare foreshore precinct, subject to planning approvals.<\/p>\n
Property and Development NSW (PDNSW), the central property agency for the New South Wales<\/a> government, is leading the process and says the development would \u201ccreate a thriving economic hub by co-locating tourism, housing and non-residential uses\u201d and include \u201cshops, boardwalk cafes, restaurants, markets, entertainment, and water-themed play areas\u201d.<\/p>\n Gumbaynggirr Elder Uncle Reginald Craig, however, believes the plans equate to \u201cdesecration of the land\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is land on which we have lived and roamed for thousands of years, it would be heartbreaking to see it developed,\u201d says Craig, a representative of the Garlambirla Guuyu-girrwaa Elders Group.<\/p>\n A multi-level residential development is \u201cinappropriate\u201d in close proximity to a \u201cweb of sacred sites\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n Craig, now in his 70s, grew up surfing the beach breaks of the foreshore, and recalls Gumbaynggirr people living \u201camongst the environment, in the sand hills\u201d.<\/p>\n A draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report<\/a>, prepared for PDNSW by archaeological consultants Artefact Heritage and Environment, refers to \u201ca number of highly significant Aboriginal Ceremony and Dreaming sites\u201d within the precinct, including middens, a stone quarry and potential burial sites.<\/p>\n Sign up to receive Guardian Australia\u2019s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n One potential site \u2013 assessed as being \u201clikely to contain Pleistocene deposits\u201d, which are between 50,000 and 11,700 years old \u2013 was listed as being potentially impacted by proposed new infrastructure, as was a possible burial site where quartz artefacts were located.<\/p>\n None of the significant sites identified sit directly within the footprint of the proposed residential development.<\/p>\n Parts of the precinct are currently subject to two undetermined Aboriginal land claims.<\/p>\n Happy Valley resident Christopher Mercy with Kalani Craig and her grandfather Uncle Reginald Craig. Photograph: Douglas Connor\/The Guardian<\/p>\n One significant site within the precinct boundary is the heritage-listed \u201cFerguson\u2019s Cottage\u201d, which became a safe haven for local children during the 1960s, and a refuge for Aboriginal people moved off missions.<\/p>\n Another key site is a fenced-off area of land known as \u201cHappy Valley\u201d, which sits just outside the boundary of the proposed development, and has served as a campsite for Gumbaynggirr people for thousands of years.<\/p>\n The site continues to be inhabited today and was the subject of a successful land claim<\/a> by the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council in 2022.<\/p>\n Christopher Mercy, who has lived at Happy Valley for 21 years, says he is largely unaware of the details of development plans and claims to have received no contact from the state government regarding the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have expected someone to come and have a yarn with me,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n PDNSW began consultation in 2019 and more than 3,600 people provided feedback on the initial master plan for the project in 2022. That same year, PDNSW engaged Aboriginal engagement specialists Murawin to coordinate a series of consultations with the Gumbaynggirr people.<\/p>\n According to the resulting report<\/a>, 50 community members engaged with the process, many repeatedly. A majority were \u201cstrongly opposed\u201d to six-storey build heights and offered objections to the use of land for private residential accommodation.<\/p>\n Gumbaynggirr Elder Aunty Yvette Pacey has been consulting on the project for more than a decade. Photograph: Douglas Connor\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Aunty Yvette Pacey, the former chairperson of the Coffs Harbour and District Local Aboriginal Land Council, says the consultation process has felt predetermined.<\/p>\n \u201cI have spent more than 12 years with these people, trying to convince them of the importance of the site, that we need to have cultural spaces preserved, and no one is listening,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n According to PDNSW, the strategic plan makes consideration for the protection of significant cultural sites including Ferguson\u2019s Cottage, Happy Valley and the nearby Muttonbird Island (Giidany Miirlarl).<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to The Rural Network<\/p>\n Subscribe to Calla Wahlquist’s fortnightly update on Australian rural and regional affairs<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n