The historic Me-Mel Island in Sydney Harbor will be returned to the Aboriginal community for future land management and conservation.
The process of the official transfer of the island to the village of Cadigal began today after the NSW government announced $ 43 million to regenerate and restore Me-Mel.
Yvonne Weldon, vice-president of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Lands Council, said the measure would help heal and progress within Sydney’s Aboriginal community.
The NSW state government will return Me-Mel Island to local First Nations people. (9 News)
“Me-Mel is a place where we can go to be within our culture, pass on the culture to our younger generations and share it with other people,” Weldon said.
“Me-Mel is an opportunity to tell the truth, and it’s about recognizing the past and unlocking the future.”
Also known as Goat Island, it is the largest island in Sydney Harbor and marks the beginning of an Eora song – Boora Birra – where the spirit of the eel created the watercourses. known today as Sydney Harbor.
The island is located near Darling Harbor, about 600 meters northwest of Balmain East Public Pier.
It is about 300 meters wide and 180 meters long.
Local Aboriginal children place their handprints alongside former Prime Minister Paul Keating, Metropolitan Aboriginal Local Council Vice President Yvonne Weldon and NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley. (Fairfax Media)
Me-Mel was once inhabited by the man Wangal Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo.
Bennelong’s father was born on the island.
The island, declared a heritage site, has a wide variety of Aboriginal, historical and natural heritage values, including more than 30 buildings and other structures dating from the 1830s to the 1960s.
In 2015, Labor leaders announced a plan to return Me-Mel to the Aboriginal community if elected to government.
The island, however, remained the property of the NSW government.
A historic country house is located on the island of Me-Mel. (9News) A proposed plan to return Me-Mel Island to Aboriginal beans in 2015 as a Labor initiative. (Fairfax Media)
Aboriginal Secretary of State Ben Franklin said a committee will make recommendations to help determine how the island is used.
“The Me-Mel Transfer Committee includes Aboriginal people and representatives of NSW government agencies, and most importantly, its establishment has the support of the local metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council,” Frankiln said.
The $ 42.9 million increase in funding over a four-year period will help improve works such as repairing dikes and buildings and improving access to the pier.
Me-Mel is currently managed by the National Parks Wildlife Service, which is asking people to join the Me-Mel Transfer Committee through an expression of interest (EOI) process.
EOI applications are open until June 27.