Reconciliation, Tasmanian style: the neglect of Risdon Cove.

THE SITE AT RISDON COVE, across the Derwent River from Hobart's northern suburbs, has a very long history.

For the British, settlement began in September 1803, when a young man, Lieutenant John Bowen RN, led a party of forty-eight made up of free settlers, convicts and marines under the command of Lieutenant William Moore.

This was the first attempted settlement of Van Diemen's Land by the British and the second settlement in Australia. It occurred because it was judged that the French might also want to settle there, thus positioning them in a strategic area south of the settlement at Sydney Cove.

Risdon Cove was subsequently abandoned as the administrative centre and moved to Sullivans Cove (Hobart) under the command of Lieutenant David Collins RN, in February 1804. Even though most people moved out, the site remained inhabited until 1948.

In those intervening years, the colony, then the state, honoured its origins and celebrated the anniversary years of 1853, 1903, 1953 and 1978. In the bicentennial year of 2003, Labor Premier Jim Bacon's government chose not to honour the event.

In 1903, the centenary, a monument to Lieutenant Bowen was erected, using stone supplied from the Proctors Road quarry near Hobart. Because of a smallpox epidemic in Hobart, unveiling was postponed until the following year, when the ceremony was conducted by the Governor of Tasmania, Sir Arthur Havelock. The ceremony was a large affair, as testified by the newspapers of the day. Judging by the pictures, thousands turned out to witness the event, including the military, clergy, government dignitaries, school children and the general public.

For many years the site was somewhat neglected, despite its historical significance. In 1978 two controversial pyramid buildings were erected at the site by the state Labor government, in the hope of ushering in a new era. But it did not eventuate and the site became a white elephant.

In 1995, Liberal Premier Ray Groom handed the Risdon Cove site (seventy-nine hectares) to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Lands Council (TALC) under the leadership of the well-known activist Michael Mansell. It was given (to quote the Act) "for the benefit of all Aboriginal persons and in the interests of reconciliation with the broader Tasmanian community".

Provision was provided in the Act for public access during daylight hours--"except when a significant Aboriginal cultural event is being held on that land"--to a proportion of the site which included the Bowen Monument and some land behind the monument, which contains valuable archaeological material.

On the day of the hand-over, when all Tasmanian parliamentarians were present, the monument was badly vandalised. Those attending made no protest and as a result nothing was done.

Since that episode and up until 2001, little maintenance was done to the Risdon Cove site and few visitors, either local or interstate, inspected the area. Since 2001 the monument has been vandalised three more times, making it four in total since the hand-over. The TALC has erected provocative signs leading to and surrounding the monument.

After lobbying, the relevant government body erected signage on public land outside the site informing travellers of the existence of Risdon Cove. In a dramatic decision in May 2006, these signs were taken down, after less than a year. To heighten the controversy further, the Co-ordinator for Tourism Signs and Infrastructure, Vin Gerasimenok, wrote to the author of this article, stating that the Secretary of the Department of Tourism, Scott Gadd, had declared "that Risdon Cove is no longer an Historic Site" (Ref: TSO223;02405-04) which justified the removal of the signs. A private contractor removed the signs one morning at 7.30.

The repercussion of the official decision that Risdon Cove was no longer an historic site flabbergasted much of the Community. Some historians, a number of local councillors, historical groups, and Aboriginal groups who represent the traditional Aboriginal owners, the Moomairemener people, and who celebrate a dual heritage but are not aligned to the TALC, were angered and appalled.

The question was posed: if the site is no longer protected because of its historical importance, then what of the future treatment of the monument, the archaeological digs and artefacts, now dating back more than 200 years?

Despite extensive lobbying, the Tasmanian government has chosen not to interfere. In the meantime, the site has become neglected, and although the legislation requires a management plan (Part 2 18/la) this has not been undertaken to respect and protect the monument and other significant areas which were documented during the archaeological investigations that took place from 1978 to 1980.

The future, unless something is done, does not look bright for the site of the first British settlement in Tasmania; a site where the first contact was made between the newcomers and the natives. Previous contact between white and black had already taken place, but the whites were explorers and quickly moved on. It was at Risdon Cove where settlers first made contact and the first blood was spilt in anger during an unfortunate confrontation in May 1804.

Risdon Cove and the monument still exist, but there are no directional signs alerting visitors to this fact, and the repair, protection and promotion of the monument look unlikely. The prospect is that much of the site, including the monument, will fall into further disrepair.