Riverlea (Buckland Park) | 12,000 dwellings | $3b

[ChillyPhilly]

A nasty development done on the cheap keeps getting nastier.

[SRW]

Wow, more than 30 remains and counting is really quite significant.

[Algernon]

Imagine if someone walks in and says let's dig up the cheltenham cemetary for a housing development.

[ChillyPhilly]

Imagine if someone walks in and says let's dig up the cheltenham cemetary for a housing development.

I can see Walker doing this.

[rev]

Calls to stop Riverlea housing development on First Nations mass burial ground

A section of a housing development has been closed as developers continue to unearth bodies at an Indigenous burial ground in Adelaide’s northern suburbs.

It’s believed at least 31 individuals have been uncovered in two areas, with one of the sites already being sold to homebuyers and the other set for future sale.

The upcoming estate at Riverlea is set to eventually be home to 40,000 residents under a 15-year plan to build 12,000 homes, 30km from Adelaide.

The work was halted for a time in July after the discovery of ancestral remains was reported to police.

But speaking to SBS/NITV at the burial ground, Aboriginal heritage manager Alison Harvey said there could be hundreds more skeletal remains yet to be uncovered.

“The further west we go the more worrying it is,” Ms Harvey said.

“We are going to find more burials, it’s just a matter of when … this is unbelievably huge.”

The developer, Walker Corporation, is seeking authorisation from the state government to “excavate, uncover, damage, disturb or interfere with Aboriginal sites, objects and, or ancestral remains” as it is illegal to damage Aboriginal heritage without the permission of Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher.

Currently the ancestral remains are being stored on-site in a shipping container, which SBS/NITV reports is a concern for many in the wider Kaurna community.

Mark Catanzariti, a Kaurna man, told the outlet he was angry that he only learned about the scale of the discoveries from leaked photographs of the site.

Mr Catanzariti and other Kaurna community members are calling on the state government to reject Walker Corporation’s application.

“How would you feel if that was one of your grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins or someone that was related to you being dug out of the ground like a science project?” he said.

“I’m sure they would say not very good.”

A spokesperson from Walker said the business continues to work closely with KYAC (Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation) representatives to ensure the respectful treatment of ancestral remains and to also ensure the most appropriate outcome is implemented as recommended by the Kaurna elders within KYAC”.

“Walker continues to take advice and direction from the Kaurna elders and the SA government as we work through the issues at hand and will be in a position to provide further details once the Kaurna elders and the SA government have had an appropriate opportunity to discuss and provide a way forward,” the spokesperson said.

Mulla Sumner, a Kaurna man who lives near the development told SBS/NITV it was like “they still believe we are flora and fauna”.

“We are not going to put up with people digging up our remains anymore,” he said.

“They’ve done it enough, I think there are about 4000 remains in the South Australian Museum, and I don’t know how many thousand remains overseas.”

“Enough is enough.”

Kaurna/Narungga woman Roselyn Coleman is concerned that homes built over the burial grounds would be “a really terrible place to live”, especially for families with young children.

Ms Harvey said she is concerned about future homeowners coming across remains when they eventually dig swimming pools or foundations.

The $6b development is part of the government’s long-term plan to solve the state’s housing crisis.

According to SBS/NITV it is rare to find a rich archaeological site of this nature that supports oral histories and is so close to Adelaide’s CBD.

The Aboriginal Heritage team has already found more than 1200 artefacts including spear and boomerang tips and items not usually found in South Australia.

“It gives you an idea of how heavily populated this area was, how much of a campground it was and how many families may have been living here,” Ms Harvey, who has been working in heritage and repatriation for thirty years, said.

Aboriginal bones found at Riverlea housing site “We’ve also found artefacts that you don’t find on the Adelaide plains – and that tells you a story that this was a trading ground too.”

The office of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) said it believed the remains have been managed appropriately to date.

“AAR has been consulting on the developer’s application under the Aboriginal Heritage Act and expects to provide its final report to the Minister for consideration in the coming months,” a spokesperson

Source: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sou ... 04e3912326

Build a park of some sort with a memorial or something acknowledging the area and it's cultural significance.
I'm sure there's land somewhere else in the northern areas around the expressway that the government can 'unlock' and do a land swap deal with Walker Corp.

[cocoiadrop]

Pending any other recommendations from traditional owner groups this is probably the best approach.

[SBD]

Pending any other recommendations from traditional owner groups this is probably the best approach.

Had there been any suggestion of this before development started?

A memorial park seems like an appropriate solution if boundaries can be identified. Pioneer Park in Gawler is a park on a former cemetery. I believe any remains were left there, but the remaining headstones were moved to Willaston Cemetery. Recent work on the retaining wall found remains.

[cocoiadrop]

Pending any other recommendations from traditional owner groups this is probably the best approach.

Had there been any suggestion of this before development started?

A memorial park seems like an appropriate solution if boundaries can be identified. Pioneer Park in Gawler is a park on a former cemetery. I believe any remains were left there, but the remaining headstones were moved to Willaston Cemetery. Recent work on the retaining wall found remains.

I don't know much about this development so I couldn't answer that, but all the radio coverage I've heard on it comes from the angle that is a surprise.

[Mpol02]

I really dislike this project so I kind of hope this derails it. There is just no FORESIGHT with future development, public transport and making this PART of Adelaide once day. It embodies everything I personally dislike about Ozzie cities. So I may be overly critical.

[SBD]

Pending any other recommendations from traditional owner groups this is probably the best approach.

Had there been any suggestion of this before development started?

A memorial park seems like an appropriate solution if boundaries can be identified. Pioneer Park in Gawler is a park on a former cemetery. I believe any remains were left there, but the remaining headstones were moved to Willaston Cemetery. Recent work on the retaining wall found remains.

I don't know much about this development so I couldn't answer that, but all the radio coverage I've heard on it comes from the angle that is a surprise.

It sounds like The Advertiser found a few people who are not part of the process to speak about how bad it is. It sounds like the first remains were found some time ago and have been managed in consultation with the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (which I think is the legal entity holding Native Title for the area).

The NITV article from last week says ancestral remains were discovered in July. It sounds like it's all archaeological, not burials in living memory.

https://www.agd.sa.gov.au/aboriginal-af ... plications has a link to a comprehensive information pack. I suspect there will end up being a memorial garden on-site with a mound for reburial of the remains that have been excavated, similar to the Wangayarta ancestral remains reburial site at Smithfield Cemetery.

[[Shuz]]

This is as good as an excuse as any to stop this putrid development.

[SBD]

This is as good as an excuse as any to stop this putrid development.

What would you do for all the people who already live there or have part-constructed houses?

Why not a respectful memorial garden and re-lay out some parks?

[ChillyPhilly]

This is as good as an excuse as any to stop this putrid development.

What would you do for all the people who already live there or have part-constructed houses?

Why not a respectful memorial garden and re-lay out some parks?

Buy them out and offer first choice in a different development.

[rev]

This is as good as an excuse as any to stop this putrid development.

What would you do for all the people who already live there or have part-constructed houses?

Why not a respectful memorial garden and re-lay out some parks?

Buy them out and offer first choice in a different development.

That would be a legal and contractual nightmare.

Besides that, is there another development that offers exactly what's on offer at Riverlea?
Is every builder that is working at Riverlea going to be available at another development?
and so on.

[ChillyPhilly]

A nightmare but it should be investigated at least. Any step towards cancelling the whole project is a good one.

There's really nothing on offer at Riverlea, other than isolation and situation on a bona fide floodplain.

Labor stalled on approving it for a clear reason - it should have stayed that way.