The Quay is the Key

quay =\ˈkē, ˈkā, ˈkwā\ (sounds like key)

I've been in Perth for 928 days. And for 921 days, a large part of Perth's waterfront in the CBD (and my cycle path) has been closed for construction. Hidden behind fences, construction vehicles, and an occasional glimpse of men in hi-vis. It's the big Elizabeth Quay redevelopment project that has kept the city talking. It also included digging out the previous esplanade to create an inlet.

I can deal with inconveniences, but Elizabeth Quay has been a major inconvenience to anyone wanting to cycle, run or walk the popular bridge to bridge. Instead of smooth access on a mixed-use path along the foreshore, it's a dangerous and always changing detour that diverts through the city, crossing major intersections, bus routes, and most annoyingly, several looonnnng stoplights. I know several people (including myself) who change their activity plans to avoid this area.

It's been under construction since I arrived, which means I never knew what it looked like before. Apparently there were trees. Old trees. Now the trees are gone.

There's been a lot of opposition and public criticism over the project. People say the city has wasted it s money. There were many complaints for spending $1.3 million on a sculpture.

There's still construction to be done, including a five star hotel, restaurants and cafes.

But Elizabeth Quay is finally open. Finally.

I've finally seen Elizabeth Quay (it took a while to make that 10 minute walk, I've gotten so used to avoiding the area), and I think it's a very good thing to happen to Perth. It's a perfect waterfront public space for the city. It's a place where things can happen, like Fringe and the Perth International Arts Festival going on now. And they've even made it a little bit of Home.

It's what every waterfront city needs.

The ferry to South Perth is now right next to one of two major train stations in the CBD and the busport instead of two blocks away. Way to go public transport planners.

It's got a less-than-efficient bridge that now allows walkers, runners, and cyclists to connect seamlessly through the CBD along the waterfront.

There's a really fun water park for kids too. Too bad it's been closed already. Twice. For health reasons.

t's got a statue of a cormorant (or a penguin if you prefer) in a boat - aka First Contact  if we're being official.

And the $1.3 million Spanda statue isn't so bad. It's good for climbing if you're a kid.

Welcome to Country and Home

This weekend was the opening of the Perth's International Arts Festival.

 Each year, the festival starts of with a big, free event. Last year, it was the Giants. You remember, those big huge puppets roaming the streets of Perth. 

The year before that, it was a bizarre pirate ship with Darth Vader projected onto the apartment buildings. Yes, I was as confused as you.

This year, it was a little closer to Home.

Home was a story about Western Australia. 

A place less foreign then the French performances of Giants and pirates.

"As the Swan River carves a winding path from the Indian Ocean through Fremantle to Mount Eliza and from Perth to the Hills, Home celebrates 40,000 years of culture, shines a light on the fragile beauty of Western Australia’s landscape and charts an epic journey of arrival, foundation, boom time and resilience.

Director Nigel Jamieson – a master builder of grand public performance and storytelling – has assembled a roll call of Western Australia’s most renowned artists to dramatise our relationship with the place we call home. Our place. For Home, Jamieson has collaborated with Noongar elder and artist, Dr Richard Walley, and the 14 clans of the Noongar nation to create a spectacular Welcome to Country. Through dance, music and song, the Welcome to Country celebrates the powerful connection we all share with this precious land and sets the stage for Perth International Arts Festival’s most ambitious home-grown event ever."

It was one of the best Welcome to Country performances that I have seen, and I realized I haven't shared the Welcome to Country and Acknowledgement of Country practice with my devoted readers.

I must admit that I was unaware of the ongoing struggles of the Australian aboriginals. When most people think of Australia, they think of surfing, kangaroos and koalas, not the Stolen Generation. I by no means intend turn my blog into a political rant, but it was only 8 years ago the Prime Minister officially apologized for taking Aboriginal children away from their home. Ironically, it was 8 years ago to the day of the performance of Home.

What is a Welcome to Country? According to the Noongar protocol:

"The Welcome to Country ceremony is an acknowledgment and recognition of the rights of Noongar people. The act of getting a representative who has traditional local links to a particular place, area or region, is an acknowledgement of respect for traditional owners. It is respect for people, respect for rights and a respect for country. The land, waterways and cultural significant sites are still very important to Noongar people. It is an acknowledgement of the past and provide a safe passage for visitors and a mark of respect."

I have no good video I've taken myself, but here's some good ones. Even G20 had a Welcome to Country.

And the performance before Home was a very memorable one.

And we got an expert reminder of the Noongar people (the people of south western Australia) and their 4 kin groups, 6 seasons, and 14 clans.

We as Americans have no acknowledgement to the Native Americans whose land was stolen. I like it as a small tribute to the people who came before. After all, it wouldn't hurt us all to take the time to pay tribute to our past.

A non-indigenous person can't do a Welcome to Country, but they can do an Acknowledgement of Country, and I've been to many meetings or seminars where the original custodians of the land are acknowledged. Many corporations or government agencies provide guidelines.

So for all that I've had the privilege to learn, experience, and love from my time in Perth and Western Australia...

I wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land I am living on, the Whadjuk (Perth region) people. I wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.