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We are Still Here
by Helen Laffin

Unsavoury - disagreeable to taste, smell or feelings, disgusting, distasteful, morally offensive. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary)

Things or topics that the general public may feel uncomfortable seeing in an exhibition on a large scale. Discussing these topics that have not been acknowledged or it has been too awkward to discuss.

Melbourne's Living Museum of the West is an ecomuseum. In Peter Davis's book Ecomuseums - A Sense of Place, a definition is given:

The concept of the ecomuseum evolved in France in the late 1960's. It embraces all aspects of cultural heritage including tangible features such as archaeological sites, objects, buildings and the natural environment, and the intangible qualities of collective memories, oral traditions and folklore. The activities of ecomuseums take place within a defined geographical area to territory. Central to the ecomuseum ideal is the close involvement of local communities in the process of caring for their heritage so providing local people with the opportunity to conserve and exhibit the unique aspects of their locality. Traditional museums face many problems when attempting to encapsulate the special nature of places and in empowering local communities, ecomuseum philosophy and practice has provided a means of overcoming these ideological strictures

(Ecomuseums, A Sense of Place. Leicester University Press.UK.1999.)

Specifically, one aim of the Living Museum is to ensure that the social and cultural diversity of the region is reflected in community involvement with Museum users. There are always new opportunities developed to involve the wide range of people who make up the community in the western region of Melbourne.

In retrospect, one of the main reasons that the Living Museum of the West originated was because the history of the western region of Melbourne was considered 'unsavoury' (by those not living there) -it is a history of noxious industry, 'ordinary' working class people, poor migrants and refugees, spec'-built post war housing estates and all the social disadvantage that accompanies the 'forgotten' groups in society. Concerned residents, including the past Premier Joan Kirner, felt the history of this region was not being acknowledged by the traditional museums.

The Western region of Melbourne had been defined as 'unsavoury' due to its industrial character; an area predominated by slaughterhouses and meatworks, ammunition factories, chemical works and factories with toxic fumes. There were, and are, many positive characteristics to the region. However they were not being acknowledged in either mainstream culture or the local cultural activity. It was for instance, the factories of the region, and their workers, which generated the wealth that enabled the grand mansions and public buildings of Melbourne to be erected by the elite.

The Living Museum of the West has been working in an innovative manner with the diverse multicultural communities of Melbourne's western suburbs for over 16 years. The Living Museum's objective is to engage the community in the process of investigating, understanding, celebrating and managing their own environment, history and culture. The philosophy of the Museum is based on the principle of the "ecomuseum" in which the total environment (including the prehistory, history, culture, economy, natural environment, geology, geography, and society) are all part of an interconnected system. The Living Museum is particularly concerned with redressing the inequities in cultural and educational activities, and providing programs focussed on people for disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Museum has acknowledged the contribution of many community members who they value and respect. It considers its role is to commemorate and explain the events that were significant to the history of the region. It aims to acknowledge the positive and negative situations that have occurred. One of the main programs has always been to involve and educate the public about the Aboriginal history of the region - the true stories of how Aboriginal people have been treated in the past and present day and to also acknowledge the significance of their heritage. However, from the outset, the Living Museum maintained the policy that any Aboriginal cultural projects had to be run or guided by Aboriginal people. Robert Mate-Mate was the first Aboriginal Cultural Officer at the Living Museum in 1996 and opened the way for the scope and impact of the program in the future.

His words

....whether children accept the policy of discrimination, I am unsettled. Should you not tell Children about the equal images of the four distinct races of the Caloid (Red), Caucasian (White), Asiatic (Yellow), and Australoid/Negroid (Black) peoples on Mother Earth. Children, don't they recognise the nocturnal orchestration of the crickets, the distant bounding of the kangaroos, the swaying of the trees, and the laughter of the kookaburras. Children, on an autumn twilight would hear the soothing sounds of a waterfall. They would see the majestic splendour of the stars; and be marvelled at the breathless beauty of the rainbow. The Children will worship the images of their parents as teenagers; and don't they idolise their role models of society in whatever way they conceive it to be...

(Unpublished manuscript. Copy held at the Living Museum of the West).

Larry Walsh followed on from Robert. His role as Aboriginal Cultural Officer at the Living Museum has covered three areas. The areas that Larry worked on were the education of non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people on the history and issues for Aboriginal people within the western region past present and future; the preservation of Aboriginal sites, artefacts and stories within the region; and the encouragement of Aboriginal people to learn their histories and cultures. He currently works as a consultant for the Living Museum with school and community groups, as well as being involved in a range of Aboriginal activism and causes.

Many of the local issues and points for education connect to national issues of the Stolen Generations. As in the national arena, the issues relating to the Stolen Generation have implications for many in our area. The Stolen Generations issue is very much a part of the Victorian story and has directly affected many people in the Victorian community, including Larry. One of Larry's major projects with the Museum was the development of the exhibition "Still Here". This important exhibition traces the development of present day Aboriginal issues from the histories of the local tribes. It focuses on the barely appreciated fact of the continuing presence of Aboriginal people and Aboriginal culture in the community.

The exhibition gives new insight to local history for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The exhibition highlights the political and social movements which agitated for Aboriginal rights. It creates an alternative to the stereotypes of Aboriginal people as victims, noble savages or desert artists. The work of the Living Museum also goes beyond story-telling to play a role in social development and change, raising public awareness of places of significance for Aborigines in the modern period, and agitating for their formal preservation, for example, by identifying the origins of Aboriginal activism to the house of William Cooper, secretary of the Advancement League and meeting place for the group which pushed for the 1967 referendum giving citizenship rights to Aborigines, and therefore the site of the origins of Aboriginal activism in Victoria.

In the introduction to the "Still Here" exhibition catalogue Olwen Ford captures the essence of the exhibition.

The telling of the story of the Aboriginal people from their perspective is part of a movement of black history making and presenting or re-presenting the history of indigenous peoples. This process is also part of the Australian search for identity and a contribution to the reconciliation process between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. There are still huge gaps but this exhibition breaks new ground by asking questions and seeking some answers.

The western region was one of the first places of encounter in Victoria - the scene of the first reported rapes of an Aboriginal woman by white shepherds; the first reported killing of white men by Aboriginal people; the first systematic killing of Aboriginal people. For a brief time, corroborees, tribal fights and traditional fishing continued and co-existed with new and different lifestyles, but sickness, forced removal and death very quickly took their toll and Aboriginal numbers fell dramatically.

White people, in their ignorance, have assumed that there was no Aboriginal history since that time of early contact. And yet Aboriginal people are here today, at least 1300 counted in the last census of 1991. The Aboriginal heritage is a living heritage.

(Introduction, "Still Here" catalogue. Olwen Ford. Melbourne's Living Museum of the West.Inc.1996.).

As an ecomuseum which plays a role in community development and embraces the people of the region as part of its structure and process, the Living Museum of the West is open to addressing issues that may generate tension for the public viewer - not to shock them, but to give them an accurate picture of life and to encourage discussion and show other perspectives. Although "Still Here" was prepared in 1996, it remains relevant, and has been incorporated into many festivals, presentations and cultural events. One of the most recent being the City of Maribyrnong's reconciliation process which has seen the multicultural community of the region participate in events which draw out not only the unsavoury history of Anglo-Celtic/Aboriginal relationships, but their own histories of abuse, conflict and trauma. The issues of justice and human rights are universal to all people, and these common issues connect the diverse sections of the community.

We are a museum that wishes to acknowledge the lives and experiences of the community by valuing and respecting the experiences they have had. The museum is the people; the people are the museum.

Helen Laffin
Melbourne's Living Museum of the West Inc.
PO Box 60 Highpoint City, Vic. 3032.

Helen Laffin has worked at the Living Museum of the West for 9 years as a co-ordinator of museum community projects and recently curated an exhibition about women of the west.
Date published: August 2000