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Redfern Community Centre
THE BEGINNING
     
   
       
The Wilson Brothers’ site was located within the intersections of 29-53 Hugo St, 28-54 Louis St, and 12-36 Caroline St Chippendale, adjoining The Block. The site comprised three old factory buildings, which offered 4.723 square metres of floor space. The three story building was formerly a printing factory, timber yard and manufacturing business. The site had not been used for at least six years and was purchased by the South Sydney Council for over $2 million in 1993. Their intention was to change the site from industrial/commercial to recreational/open space (Advocacy Workshop Case Study). Close to Redfern Station and within walking distance of the Sydney CBD as well as easy access to universities, the site’s use was a controversial issue and divided community opinion.

Christina Breda & Lauren Massoud dug deep into The Settlement archives in 2015 to find out how it was decided how to use the site. Read more
     
   
       

Redfern Community Centre 1998-2004 in the making
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Early in 1998, the South Sydney Council wanted to demolish the old warehouse, the Wilson Bros buildings.  Strong community lobbying, mainly by Redfern Residents for Reconciliation, resulted in Council shelving the plan temporarily, and engaging social planners to conduct community consultations. (Sarkissian Associates Planners Pty Ltd) Consultations over this site involved many parties, often with conflicting objectives.

Four groups (Redfern Residents for Reconciliation, Redfern Aboriginal Corporation, the Settlement and Renew) put forward a joint proposal for the use of the site as a Reconciliation Community and Cultural Centre and for job creation opportunities.  Another group, the Chippendale Residents Wilson Bros Factory Site Action Group wanted a police station installed on the site as well as a park. The meetings were often tense and contentious.

Redfern Residents for Reconciliation organised a petition online and a website to support the use of the former Wilson Bros factory site by the Aboriginal community for productive purposes. The community’s feelings about the site were mixed. Some felt the refurbishment of the Centre was a step that would lead to upgrading the area.  Others felt it was the beginning of the end of The Block and the Aboriginal community’s access to low cost housing.  The Aboriginal Housing Company, on the other hand, wanted to speed up its housing development project for the area and get rid of what it sees as entrenched drug problems there.

Four community representatives were appointed by Council to the steering committee: Dennis Weatherall, Deborah Wall, Margaret Weir and Jan Flanagan. Each of these representatives held different views.  Apart from campaigning for a Reconciliation Centre, Redfern Residents for Reconciliation lobbied for the preservation of the Block as a heritage item under the ATSI Heritage Protection Act 1984. With support from a Builder’s Union, the group approached Lee Rhiannon, Greens MLC, NSW Parliament House, to put forward their view.

(Excerpt from: The South Sydney Herald Volume One, No 19, April 2004, p. 4)

Deborah Wall is a foundation member of Redfern Residents for Reconciliation (RRR). In a piece for The South Sydney Herald, she gave a background of RRR's advocacy for a community centre.
     
   
       
     
   
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