An island on the Hawksbury River north of Sydney with a rich Aboriginal cultural heritage that is also notorious for its use as an institution for mentally ill patients could soon be owned by the local Aboriginal corporation.
Located just upstream from the Sydney–Newcastle Freeway bridge, Peat Island is an eight-hectare island that forms part of the suburb Mooney Mooney.
The island contains a number of registered Aboriginal sites including rock engravings and grinding grooves associated with Aboriginal occupation along the Hawkesbury River. It is also dotted with remnants of its use as an institution for mentally ill patients for much of the twentieth century, including architecturally significant early twentieth century ward buildings associated with government architects Walter Liberty Vernon and George McRae.
The New South Wales government unveiled plans to develop the island as a tourist destination in 2021, with Urbis drawing up a concept plan which included new apartments and townhouses as well as tourist facilities.
But on 31 January, the NSW government and the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council announced a statement of intent to negotiate the potential transfer of ownership of the island.
The Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council has submitted a land claim for the land, and is planning the possible development of an Aboriginal Discovery Centre and Indigenous Walking Path to untap cultural tourism opportunities that “will capture and help preserve the rich Aboriginal cultural heritage on and surrounding Peat Island.”
The land council’s vision would supersede the state government’s development plans
Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council chairperson B J Duncan said, “This is an enormous opportunity for the local Aboriginal community and all Central Coast residents, providing an economic future and strengthening culture for the grandchildren of our grandchildren.
“We will create something that showcases and preserves Aboriginal culture and contemporary Australian history in a way that respects the past use of Peat Island and its former residents.
“Peat Island can become a centrepiece of Australia’s cultural tourism in NSW, showing that you don’t need to go to Central or Northern Australia to celebrate the richness of Aboriginal culture and heritage in contemporary Australia,” Mr Duncan said.
NSW planning minister Anthony Roberts said, “The collaboration with Darkinjung will aim to reunite the site with the custodians of the land, ensuring it will be preserved and acknowledged well into the future.
“The NSW Government will continue working with Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council through the planning processes.”
The government’s original plan to develop the island has proved controversial, with residents raising concerns about overdevelopment and insensitive treatment of those institutionalized on the island through its history.
The announcement of the possible transfer of ownership has also come in for criticism from the Guringai Tribal Link Aboriginal Corporation, which says the island should be used by the Guringai people for traditional purposes and as a “site of conscience” dedicated to the people who lived and were traumatised in the area, according to local media.
