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growing communities One survey response had suggested rebuilding the school but also putting a big fence round it so it can’t be damaged. A constructive suggestion from a local Shire Councillor lent direction as to how any ‘memory’ might look. Whatever we put there needs to be able to be used by the whole community. Gary Aitken, the Fremantle based lead artist and mentor who designed and constructed the work, extended the notion of ‘use by the whole community’. The father of small children himself, he saw that any reminder of the school should depict it as a place where children could feel at home. Young people are going to play on this. You’re going to get kids on skateboards. So let’s make it strong enough to withstand all those pressures. The physical reminder is a concrete slab, the exact size and dimensions of the original building. But it was more than just a slab and is now known as; The Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint. The Footprint shows visitors the exact area, measured to size, of the original school building. And thanks to Maree and Glenece’s hours of watching the cement dry, there are no unwanted footprints on the Footprint. The new ‘school space’ represented play outdoors as much as learning indoors. A miniature school bell still rings on site but marked spaces shaped by aluminium strips offer children’s games. Hopscotch and knucklebones are there, while an array of marbles suggests other games. Children have readily taken up the offer. The Footprint is now very much a play space in Waroona’s well-used Centennial Park. In his search for other Footprint components Gary Aitken suggested an archaeological dig on the original school site. He thought it might be a good idea to see what turned up amongst the charred remains of the old wooden building. Not much emerged, the odd marble, an old cup and a fifty cent coin. The best find was a pile of bricks from the original classroom fireplace, which were saved by Shire workers. These were salvaged and re-erected on the Footprint. Glenece Walmsley noticed the attention the fireplace drew from former pupils. Everyone had memories of the brick fireplace. In the winter kids used to come to school in the freezing cold and warm their hands at the fire. The journey from burnt timber to concrete reminder took time. Maree Ellis recalls a lot of consultation, and a lot of meetings. We had a community reference group which would meet to make decisions. Whenever the artists came up with an idea we would all meet. Everybody was well informed all the way through. Children contributed to the steel decorative edging of the footprint that features cut-outs of people. Some were made in the classroom and others by community groups. They were put together by a Community Mentored Artist, Jeannie Marie Hawkins. Today one of the guessing games for locals, children and adults alike is finding their own design at the footprint’s fringe. For members of the Waroona Historical Society, the Footprint opening in May 2008 was the culmination of two years’ work. Everybody made positive comments. Many said they would have loved to still have the old school but liked what we’d achieved. We were pleasantly surprised by their response because we were using very modern material to replace something that was very old and traditional. Not surprisingly many Waroona citizens had contributed as volunteers to complete the job. A Shire Councillor laid the bricks with help from the Town Planner. The day the concrete was poured there was a real festive atmosphere at the park. Maree’s most cherished recollection of the Drakesbrook School revival is the way the opening brought people together. It brought a lot of people back to town. People sat around with their cups of tea and had a really good catch-up. It’s important to bring people together to celebrate their memories of the school but I think it’s also important to have a recollection of what happened in your grandparents or great grandparent’s days. Bringing people together can pose risks. Glenece Walmsley has a cautionary tale. Some of those memories became public on opening day and pupils stood up to tell stories ‘out of school’. We had one particular teacher sitting in the audience. They had teachers from the different eras there and my niece was a pupil from this teacher’s era. My niece said, “I can remember I went home from school and my mother said, ‘You’re quiet. What’s wrong with you?’. ‘I’m not going to school tomorrow.’ ‘Why not?’ ‘Because the teacher said if I didn’t shut up she’d tie my tongue to the table’. And the same teacher was sitting there in the audience. Oh! The perils of oral history. 30
Waroona is a small rural community with a population of about 4,000. It is sandwiched between Mandurah to the north-west and Bunbury to its south. Both those cities are experiencing rapid population growth and this is beginning to impact on Waroona. The Shire of Waroona Strategic Plan 2005-2025 states that this Council values its rural identity above all else and is firmly resolved to retain it. The main aim and focus is to maintain a strong sense of rural community. Driving into the township, I experienced the quiet, country atmosphere that still separates Waroona from its neighbours; But for how long? CEO Ian Curley had an answer. Here we are separated geographically. We have boundaries all around, so we set ourselves apart from some of our neighbours. Some municipalities see their way forward in getting bigger and bigger, but development means infrastructure costs and this can outweigh the benefits of extra rates coming in. We’re not anti-development, but we don’t see development as being the only key to success. That is why community development and cultural issues are so important to this Council. We do a lot of work with community groups and help them out as best we can. We undertake a number of cultural and community development activities each year. Waroona has always had a strong community development focus; it is embedded in the community. With all our projects, the initiative comes from the community and we work with the community to achieve our goals. The Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint is one community initiative that responds to Waroona’s rural identity. When it burned down, the old school was one of only two remaining pre-1900 weatherboard one-room school buildings in Western Australia. A larger district school had been built in a more practical location. The old building, on the original site, was highly valued as a reminder of early settlement days in a rural setting. The Council was lobbied strongly by the community who wanted the old school preserved so it remained and the surrounding land was developed into a park now known as Centennial Park. The 2005 fire left nothing of the old school but the bricks from the fireplace and a few other relics. In an effort to preserve the memory of the building for future generations the Council asked the Historical Society for a solution and gave assistance to create a memorial footprint of the school at the site. The community supported the footprint concept and the Waroona Shire Council provided financial and in-kind support. A generous local gave financial sponsorship and the project was also supported by a grant from the Maree Ellis explained that artists, Gary Aitken and Jeanie Marie Hawkins involved the community in a mini-dig to forage for any relics from the site. Also, previous teachers and students were asked to tell of any experiences they might have had at the school and their stories directly influenced the artists’ concept. The Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint is just one example of the way in which the community has expressed its rural values and identity. Shire CEO Ian Curley believes that a community will be stronger and more resilient if you support their independence and build their capacity to help themselves. We could pick this community up and put it anywhere and it would succeed. However, sometimes it can be tough going and there are difficulties and challenges to overcome. We’re seen by the Wheatbelt as being almost in the city and by those in the city as being way out in the country. This sometimes makes it hard to attract grants. The Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint and other projects have been undertaken by the Shire without government help. However Ian is philosophical. The community is used to being self-reliant when it comes to funding its own projects. The Council assists where it can to provide back-up to the community. The local community has given a clear message that it will not support wholesale development that maximises land profit at the expense of its rural lifestyle and the environment. However, with developers knocking at the door, Waroona is unlikely to be able to hold them at bay forever. Ian concedes that the threat of change is real but has a ready response. If we have to have it, we want quality development that reflects our lifestyle and values. Until then, we are happy to remain as we are. Meanwhile the Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint stands in the centre of a community park as a symbol of days gone by and a reminder of the resolve of Waroona to preserve its history and retain its rural identity. L>R: Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint View, photo by Gary Aitken; Drakesbrook School Memorial Footprint View, photo by Maree Ellis TEN PROJECTS 31
Page 2 and 3: © 2012 Community Arts Network WA L
Page 5 and 6: contents 4 Foreword EMERITUS PROF.
Page 7 and 8: foreword A decade or so ago the Aus
Page 9 and 10: Growing Communities is designed to
Page 11 and 12: TEN PROJECTS 9
Page 13 and 14: ExtravagANTza at ‘Keela Dreaming
Page 15 and 16: L>R ‘Fired Up Youth Arts Project
Page 17 and 18: Creative and collaborative play: in
Page 19 and 20: Collaborative creativity is at the
Page 21 and 22: Independent Perspectives From Which
Page 23 and 24: Approaches To Engagement If the for
Page 25 and 26: Conclusion Most communities could n
Page 27 and 28: Figure 1. Figure 2. self-actualizat
Page 29 and 30: community arts and ten projects cul
Page 31: TEN PROJECTS 29
Page 37 and 38: I drove to Rockingham on the southe
Page 41 and 42: Sheila agreed. She also emphasised
Page 43 and 44: L>R: Monica Ingram - Government Hou
Page 45 and 46: I don’t think much is known about
Page 47 and 48: Jewellery from ‘Made by Hand, Ins
Page 49 and 50: I know in community arts there’s
Page 51 and 52: Student canvas - Caralee Community
Page 53 and 54: Brentwood Primary School work on th
Page 55 and 56: Writing on pavement, photo by Carol
Page 57 and 58: Smart Street has been a feature of
Page 60 and 61: growing communities Four Malay girl
Page 62 and 63: city of BUNBURY 09 Bridging the Gap
Page 64 and 65: growing communities At almost the s
Page 66 and 67: growing communities city of ARMADAL
Page 68 and 69: Top>Bottom: Local youngsters displa
Page 70 and 71: how to community arts and cultural
Page 72 and 73: 04 Develop internal partnerships gr
Page 74 and 75: 07 Engage in strategic long term pl
Page 76 and 77: ecommended recommended resources re
Page 78 and 79: Relevant websites Agenda 21 for Cul
Page 80 and 81: Community arts and community cultur
Page 82 and 83:
TOWN OF PORT HEDLAND Perth Office K
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