Author of case study: Greg Labrosse

Geopolitical location of space:
838 East Derwent Highway
Risdon, Tasmania

Extant? Yes

Architect:
Original architect: unknown (originally built as the Bowen Park Visitor Centre in the 1970s)
Refurbishment: Tim Penny Architecture (2019)

Timeframe of RJ/TJ process in this space:

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre is an Aboriginal community organisation developed in the early 1970s and funded by the federal government since 1973.

Background information:

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre represents the political and community development aspirations of the Tasmanian Aboriginal community in Hobart and its surrounding areas.

Is restorative justice actually taking place in this space?

Yes. The service staff at the Children’s Centre act as a liaison between offenders and the court, and offer a variety of programs, addressing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in Tasmanian detention centres.

Is this space designed/arranged for safe listening?

The spaces where restorative justice takes place within the Centre have not been designed specifically for safe listening. They are multi-purpose rooms that are adapted according to the need.

Who is the audience/the intended participants for this space?

The Centre’s focus is on delivering services to the Aboriginal community.

How or to what extent is this site public?

The Centre is open to all.

What are the politics of this space, either in terms of its location, design, spatial, or visual aspects?

The hand-over of the Risdon Cove site, which included the Bowen Memorial and the original structure of the Bowen Park Visitor Centre, was part of the Aboriginal Lands Bill. The transfer occurred on 11 December, 1995.

Physical/factual description of space:

The Centre comprises two pyramids joined by a glazed link. The Pyramid Refurbishment project provided an education facility for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre to deliver community education and training programs for the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. This incorporated multipurpose rooms with the Aboriginal Children’s Early Learning Centre. The new entry insertion is a linear, copper-clad form to counterpoint with the original pyramids. The timber-lined lobby provides a light-filled public entry and presentation space for cultural artefacts in an informal meeting space.

Analytical description of space:

As per its website, the TAC is an Aboriginal community organisation developed in the early 1970s and funded by the federal government since 1973. It was incorporated as the Aboriginal Information Service in November 1973 and changed its name to Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC) in August 1977, and officially to Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation in 2016, but is still known as the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. The objectives of the corporation are to provide benevolent relief of poverty, sickness, destitution and distress to address disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (“Aboriginal”) people.

Some of its main achievements include:

• Negotiation of Aboriginal land returns in 1995, 1999, 2005
• Return of ancestral remains from overseas and Australian institutions
• Legislative recognition of Aboriginal cultural fishing rights
• Apology to the Tasmanian Stolen Generations
• Financial compensation to members of the Stolen Generations
• Negotiation of land purchases for community ownership
• Establishment of a range of Aboriginal community services
• Retrieval and revival of Tasmanian Aboriginal language
• Improved accountability of Aboriginal heritage protection
• Establishment of Tasmanian government services to members of the Aboriginal community

Some of the services it provides include:

• Community advocacy
• Counselling services including ‘Bringing Them Home’ counselling program
• Cultural heritage programs including land based activities and camps
• Family support services including child protection advocacy and early learning home visiting
• Land management programs on returned lands
• Law reform and community legal education
• Prison visiting
• Substance abuse programs including tobacco control
• Youth diversion program

In coordination with Hobart’s Department of Health and Human Services department, in recent years the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre has organised bush walks as part of its Youth Diversion Program, in order to offer young offenders a peaceful space for conferencing with their parents and the municipal caseworkers.