St Andrew’s Cathedral
School, an Anglican
private school behind the project, had hoped to open the campus for indigenous
children for the start of the new school year.
Children were to be sponsored World Vision-style and the
campus would be named Gawura, which means “whale” in the local Eora
language.
In order to open the campus, to be located within the
Redfern Community Centre, St Andrew’s had applied for a change of use.
But after fiery community meetings and mixed feedback, City
of Sydney
council extended the development application public exhibition period by
several weeks, closing on January 25.
The council now says 10 of the 13 submissions received have
opposed the plan.
Of greatest concern among residents is the choice of
location for the campus. Some say that a private school should not be allowed
to operate from a council-owned site.
Redfern Residents for Reconciliation convenor Lyn [Turn]Bull
said there was concern that a private school wanted to set up a campus on a
publicly owned site.
“It’s one of those well-meaning things but is perhaps
misguided,” she said.
“It’s something that can divide a very fragile
community. There are a lot of issues the community is having to face. This
creates a division that is not particularly helpful.”
There were also some objections to the school on religious
grounds.
Ms [Turn]Bull said there was a lot of concern voiced by some
members of the Aboriginal community about the fact that the Anglican Church in Sydney was very
mission-focused.
“There was concern this was a repeat of stuff that had
happened in the past,” she said.
The group had sent a submission to the council outlining
their concerns.
Another local community group, REDWatch, has been monitoring
the proposal.
“There was a fear that people were experimenting with
the Aboriginal community again,” organiser Geoff Turnbull said.
St Andrew’s Cathedral
School, whose main campus
is at Town Hall Square,
has been involved in ongoing consultation, doorknocking many homes and running
community meetings.
Head of school Phillip Heath said there were about eight
children ready to attend the campus when it opened and he was confident that
there was still a great deal of support among the local community.
Director of Crossroads Aboriginal Ministries at Redfern
Pastor Ray Minniecon has been involved in the project and has been keeping in
touch with residents.
Several parents of St Andrew’s students as well as members
of the business community have offered to sponsor the children when the new
campus opens.
A City of Sydney
spokesman said the development application was being considered by an
independent consultant.
“It is currently being assessed by an independent
planning consultant and the city will carefully consider the submissions,”
he said.