11110 Reading Canberra PDF

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Essay: Reading Canberra. Based on the Canberra 2003 Bushfire existing memorials. A comparison of the narratives these tell. ...

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Reading Canberra 11110 Assessment II

Student ID: u3177621 Wordcount: 1004 Due date: April 16th, 2020

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Introduction This paper will present an analysis of the Firestorm Storytree, which was officially opened in Mount Taylor Estate (Canberra) in 2005, to commemorate the bushfires that took place on the 18th of January 2003 in the Australian Capital Territory. This paper will also present an analysis of the Official 2003 Bushfire Memorial, which will allow to compare the different ways in which the event is remembered, and the belief systems behind these differences. The 2003 Canberra bushfires were one of Australia’s worst natural disasters (Doyle, 2008). The fires burned for a week until they entered the suburbs of Stromlo, Paddy’s River, Mount Taylor, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong on the 18th of January. Almost 500 homes were destroyed, hundreds were left injured, 4 lives were taken; and 70% of the ACT’s natural parks were severely damaged (Monument Australia, 2010). Memorials of natural disasters are very important, as they serve to remind communities of how powerful the environment is. They also denote what communities choose to remember, and the weight they assign to different elements within that community. Along these lines, they serve to remind communities that their priorities may need to be modified to prevent or mitigate the impact of future catastrophes.

The Firestorm Storytree The Firestorm Storytree stands between Ammon and Bolden Places, off Sulwood Drive, in the area the fire tornado hit in its way to Mount Taylor. This memorial was a project of the Mount Taylor Estate Residents Association (MTERA), artist Bryan

Carrick,

and

others

from

Auspicious Arts (Carrick, 2005). What today is the Firestorm Storytree, was then one of the few trees in the immediate area that was still standing after the disaster (Tealby, 2007). More specifically, it was a Redbox, which dates back to the 1830’s, and it was carved to present the events it Figure 1. Firestorm Storytree. Source: Telby, D., Waymarking

witnessed over the last 200 years.

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These carvings present five stages, each of them separated by three lines that represent the Murrumbidgee River, which flows through the community’s valley (Carrick, 2005). Stage 1 at the bottom shows scenes of indigenous Australia, when fire was used for land management and for shaping the environment. Stage 2 represents settlement by Europeans, with wooded slopes symbolising grazing and construction. The third stage shows the building of Kambah as part of the development of the ACT, which changed water courses as houses where constructed, and brough new plants as gardens were built. Stage 4 shows scenes from the bushfire; and stage 5 presents the regeneration of the land and the community. The tree is topped by an eagle and outstretched hands. The eagle was chosen because wedgetails often flew above the artists as they worked on the tree; and the hands serve a symbol of hope (Monument Australia, 2010). Under the tree there is a time capsule with stories and photos from the 2003 tragedy which will be opened on the 20th anniversary of the bushfires. This capsule and the tiles that surround the tree were made by the community with the support of workshops for the youth that lost their locals after the fire, such as the Galilee’s and Bosco’s workshops. There were other supporters including Arts ACT, the Department of Urban Services and Environmental Outcomes, Communities at Work and the CIT (National Trust of Australia, 2011). Overall, this memorial aims to commemorate the spirit and resilience of communities affected and those who supported the recovery effort (Carrick, 2005). It also serves to remind them of the importance of fire, and the ability of native habitat to renew itself (Doherty, 2013).

The Official 2003 Bushfire Memorial The official memorial is located in the old Mount Stromlo Forrest Park, within the suburb of Wright in Canberra. It was commissioned by the government and designed by Tess Horwitz, Tony Steel and Martyn Jolly. The memorial encompasses three different areas, the first are walls that was made from the community’s salvaged and inscribed bricks with the names of the 4 individuals who lost their lives during the event, in which people can write messages of grief and gratitude. As the pictures below show, these walls give way to the second area: a structure of several curved polls that represent trees and the wind. Lastly, at the very end of the walk there is an amphitheatre with a pond and 5 glass columns filled with community photos from the day and from recovery efforts. At the entrance of this area a plate explains the importance of this memorial: “this memorial aims to acknowledge the impact of the 2003 bushfires, mark the process of recovery and thank the many organisations and individuals who contributed to firefighting and recovery” (ArtsACT, 2006).

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Figure 2. Official 2003 Bushfire Memorial. Source: ArtsACT, 2006

Conclusion It can be taken out that these memorials commemorate the same event in very different ways. The Firestorm Storytree provides a sense of the history in which the event is embedded and aims to counter Eurocentric bias through amplifying the voices of indigenous communities. Contrarily, the official memorial is “a journey from the day of the fire, through the process of recovery” (ArtsACT, 2006). It tells the story of people, heroism and infrastructure lost. All in all, the first memorial choses to remember the environment and the way in which it presents danger, while the second presents anthropocentric features, Eurocentric bias , and contributes to a marginalising discourse. The official memorial, therefore, represents just another way of silencing the voices of minorities, with the intention of preserving a hegemonic, Eurocentric view of history that fails to recognise the historical trajectory of erasing non-western cultural practices that has contributed to this event. The story told by this memorial, thus, favours white Australia’s narrative and creates a sense of nationhood that excludes part of the story and its people. This is concerning given that this marginalising discourse is being circulated by powerful institutions and it supports socio-political reality rather than factual reality. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Whitman Wire Columnist, 2017).

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References ArtsACT, 2005. ACT Government: ArtsACT. [Online] Available at: https://www.arts.act.gov.au/public-art/firestorm-storytree [Accessed 7 April 2020]. ArtsACT, 2006. ACT Bushfire memorial. [Online] Available at: https://www.arts.act.gov.au/public-art/actbushfire-memorial [Accessed 6th April 2020]. Carrick, B., 2005. Firestorm Storytree. [Art] (ArtsACT). Davidson, H., 2014. "Tony Abbot says Australia was unsettled before the British arrived. The Guardian, 3 July, p. [Online]. Doherty, M., 2013. Firestorm tree tells story again. Canberra Times, 12 January [Online]. Doyle, J., 2008. Canberra rethinks bushfire risk after 2003 firestorm. ABC News, 18 January [Online]. Monument Australia, 2010. Firestorm Storytree Bushfire Memorial. [Online] Available at: http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/disaster/fire/display/99623-firestorm-storytreebushfire-memorial [Accessed 5 April 2020]. National Trust of Australia, 2011. Heritage in Trust, Canberra: National Trust of Australia. Tealby, D., 2007. Waymarking. [Online] Available at: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1RE0_Firestorm_Story_Tree_Time_Capsule_Canberra _Australia [Accessed 10 April 2020]. Whitman Wire Columnist, 2017. Whitman Wire News. [Online] Available at: https://whitmanwire.com/opinion/2017/11/09/historical-negationism/...