ABORIGINAL heritage could be significantly harmed by the demolition of Williamstown’s Port Phillip Woollen Mill, a special planning committee meeting heard last week.
Objectors told a Hobsons Bay Council panel that the demolition of the site – supposedly to check for contamination – was unnecessary and premature.
Nelson Place Village Pty Ltd has proposed to build more than 400 dwellings, including four towers up to 13 storeys high, on the land bounded by Nelson Place and Ann, Aitken and and Kanowna streets.
Krystyna Tyrrell, a Williamstown resident and member of the Kirrip Aboriginal Corporation, said no consideration had been given to indigenous burial sites and artefacts on the land.
“There’s been no consideration of the Aboriginal community in this,” she told the Weekly.
“There’s been no consultation with them, and they don’t understand the relevance of the site.
“They’re talking about buildings but not actually what’s under the sub-soil, which is where the artefacts are and where all the heritage is. I’m very concerned that they’re just ignoring the whole thing, just as if the Aboriginal community didn’t exist.
“The Wurundjeri Land Council hasn’t been involved in any studies. Aboriginal Affairs Victoria hasn’t been involved. Nobody’s taking it very seriously.”
Addressing the panel, Ms Tyrrell said the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 and Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2007 were designed to protect Aboriginal places, objects and human remains and clearly required planners and developers to obtain permission prior to any disturbance of the site.
The council refused to grant a demolition permit, saying that it was premature.
