What is this proposal about?
This proposal seeks to garner support from members of the Illawarra community to be partners in an exciting and visionary infrastructure proposal that will transform our city and the Illawarra in the same way MONA has revolutionized Tasmania.
We are putting forward the idea of creating a heritage and arts precinct in the BlueScope decommissioned industrial area of our city with a Museum of People and Industry (MPI) – Port Kembla, being the centre piece that brings the stories of our culturally rich and diverse community to life. It will be a museum of our social and industrial history enriched by arts and entertainment situated in a large remediated open space.
It will begin with the stories of our First Australians and through ongoing engagement, research, documentation and exhibition, showcase our rich migrant history, highlighting how successive waves of migration have impacted on and shaped our region.
These stories will be underpinned and interlaced with the stories of the industrial giants who were the catalyst for the dramatic and transformational changes our region has witnessed for over 100 years.
These stories will be told through the eyes of the people who lived and came to live here and will generate pride, engagement and extend compassion in our community.
What will we see in a Museum of People and Industry?
The museum will be new and innovative, telling stories in imaginative and inspiring ways, reflecting the forward thinking of our ancestors. It will:
- Have a permanent collection telling the big, small and surprising stories of the region
- Devise interactive and engaging visitor experiences covering Indigenous, social, human migration, industrial, mining and technological histories of the region
- Protect and respect the significant industrial architecture of the city
- Promote and sustain modern museum practices
- Conduct research and foster links with tertiary institutions
- Incorporate spaces for film, arts and creative industries to flourish
- Create room for the storage of museum objects
- Have large open spaces for concerts and outdoor exhibitions
- Be linked via foot, cycle and public transport networks
- Include retail spaces for complimentary activities
Why is a Museum of People and Industry important?
The Illawarra has a rich and multi-faceted social history deeply embedded in the industrial landscape that has shaped the spaces we live in and made us who we are today.
For over a century, the Illawarra has played a central role in the development and growth of mining and heavy industry as well as facilitating trade and contributing to the economic growth of the nation.
There is also a strong local Indigenous community that has protected the stories of place and people. To further support healing and reconciliation, they need to tell, and we need to hear their stories and experiences.
The history of migration is part of the DNA of the Illawarra. After World War II the heavy industry sector provided employment for one of the biggest workforces in Australia, larger than the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme. The Illawarra has a strong and legitimate claim to the New South Wales migration and settlement story, with many migrants and their descendants settling and staying in the Wollongong region.
We deserve to showcase our stories. We deserve to demonstrate how important our experiences have been to the nation. But it is also incumbent on us to tell our stories. We have a responsibility to pass on our stories to our children so they can examine our successes, failures and battle scars to see where they come from and help inform and shape their future.
The Museum of People and Industry will fill the significant gap that currently exists in the researching, recording and security of our stories. Without the work of a museum new generations will have little opportunity to learn about the history of our city.
The need for a more significant and expansive museum presence in our region has been identified and advocated for decades. The vision articulated in this paper aligns with previous advocacy but proposes a way forward to ensure that we create a museum that is multidimensional, sustains other creative practices and re-generates a part of our landscape.
Will it replace all the other museums in the area?
This Museum would not replace any of the smaller museums. On the contrary, it would aim to support and sustain the research and enquiry of smaller museums, bringing them into the larger museum as part of permanent or temporary exhibitions.
What are the benefits to the region?
A significant (and magnificent) heritage and arts precinct would generate local and international tourism, incubate ideas and further funding opportunities as well as increase visitor spending in hospitality, accommodation and associated sales.
Quality locations also attract visiting exhibitions and blockbuster events which draw significant visitors.
Large Museums and cultural precincts provide significant and sustainable job opportunities in diversified fields. In 2009 Museums and Galleries NSW (MGNSW) determined that with every paid employee in a museum, an average of 8.5 positions in other sectors are created and 500 hours of volunteer time and expertise is contributed per week. Importantly visitors purchase overnight accommodation, dining and other destination experiences. They stimulate economic growth and lift the quality of local businesses and tourism operators.
ABS’ data estimated that in 2008 – 2009 cultural and creative activity provided over $86 billion (6.9%) to Australia’s economy outranking retail trade, education and training, and agriculture, forestry and mining (ABS no longer collects this data).
From an environmental perspective, a heritage and arts precinct would transform our city so we could:
- Retain our industrial architecture and landscape as a space for residents and tourists to explore
- Remediate industrial sites, including Mt Kembla mine and Corrimal Cokeworks
- Allow visitors to explore the magnificence and awe of large buildings and spaces
- Create tourism experiences g. Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, cycling tours, links to Cringila and Mt Kembla Mountain Bike trails
- Preserve our machinery and transport vehicles
- Create new jobs in emerging sectors
There are also significant intangible benefits derived from museums including:
- The pride and validation of the local community who see their stories told to wider audiences
- The expression of empathy and compassion towards neighbours and community when visitors are afforded another view of history
- The growth of enquiry and learning that museums foster by rigorous research and documenting evidence.
- Stimulating curiosity and
How will this be funded?
This is an ambitious project which cannot be funded by a single government agency or business operation.
This project is by necessity, a collaborative enterprise that pursues a shared vision. Many sources of funding will be required supported by a robust plan and business case with short, medium and long term goals.
It will require strong leadership to take the vision forward and foster cross-sectoral collaboration and financial support.
There are examples in Australia and around the world from which to draw inspiration and knowledge. The Landscape Park Duisborg Nord (in Germany), the ERI – European Route of Industrial Heritage and the Guggenheim in Bilbao are some examples.
With an agreed vision, an enterprise of this magnitude could source funds from:
- Federal, State and Local Governments
- Funding program
- Special establishment grants
- Philanthropic organisations
- Donations from large industry groups
- Crowd sourcing
- Economic development and recovery grants
Why are Museums important in our society?
This is an extract from the Submission to the NSW Legislative Council Parliamentary Inquiry into Museums and Galleries from the Council of Australasian Museum Directors (CAMD) 12 August 2016. It provides an eloquent description of the roles of museums in our community.
“Museums have a core role to communicate information drawn from the collections and associated research to the public through their exhibitions and programs on and off site and online. They are among the most trusted of Australia’s institutions due to the knowledge implicit in their collections and the careful objectivity of the research infusing their exhibitions and public programs. In their communications to the public they bring together a multitude of viewpoints on significant issues, interpret complex subjects, promote community understanding and engage users of all ages in the search for the past, an understanding of the present and to canvass future solutions to ‘big issues’ such as national identity and sustainability.”
