Queensland Museum & Community Collections

In February 2023, Ewen McPhee and I headed to Mapoon on Western Cape York Peninsula to attend two important community events. First, we joined elders, dignitaries, and community to mark the opening of the Chakara Aged Care Centre, a new support centre for elders. Following speeches, blessings and a cup of tea, everyone made their way over to the Mapoon’s Cultural Centre – keen to see inside this impressive new building.

Located on the traditional lands of the Tjugundji people, Mapoon’s Cultural Centre is the result of community vision, council planning and investment, and a lot of hard work.  After a welcome to country, words from Mapoon’s Mayor, Aileen Addo, a few speeches and a blessing, the Centre was declared open. Guests enjoyed open access, some delicious food and a display of artworks from Wei’num Arts. Mapoon residents now have a place to produce and share stories, exhibit artworks, access knowledge, care for important cultural artefacts and welcome visitors.  

Many people were involved in putting sections of the space together, and included local council staff and contractors, Indigenous Knowledge Centre staff and other arts related bodies. The MDO program got involved with the Cultural Keeping Place, running training with Jason Jia, Cultural Heritage Officer in Mapoon.

Creating displays for the Cultural Keeping Place

The history of Mapoon has many layers. These include traditional culture, a maritime era, the missionary period, the removals and burning of Mapoon in 1963 and subsequent rebuilding and return. Jason wanted to make sure people could learn about this history in the displays developed for the opening – and I was only too keen to help out.

Jason and I met up again in Cairns during CIAF – that’s where the work on the banners for the Cultural Keeping Place began in earnest, after a bit of fun at Cairns Museum. We began by identifying key themes that reflected the community’s story. We also reached out to historian, Geoff Wharton OAM, for advice and fact checking. Geoff has explored the history of this community in depth, and this is not the first time he has shared his knowledge and passion for Western Cape with me or Jason. His generosity reflects his deep engagement in and sensitivity to Mapoon’s culture, language and history.

Finding the right images, and getting permission to use them in displays, can be time consuming. Grateful thanks are extended to staff from the Fryer Library for providing links to material in their collection. A shout out, too, for the State Library of Queensland for initiating critical cultural clearance work with communities a few years ago – this makes access and research so much easier and more respectful. Geoff, too, ensured we had access to items in the Cape York Collection.  And, let’s not forget the foresight of Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council who paid its artists to develop artwork that could be specifically used for these types of projects.

After a few months of work, and Geoff’s rigorous critique, we were armed with draft text, high resolution images, artwork and a host of approvals. We engaged Nettie O’Connell to create eight pull up banners to help bring the space to life. She cleverly used motifs within the artwork to link the different banners, and created a design that complemented the images and environment. As Ewen and I helped Jason install them the day before the opening, it was exciting to see how simple tools like banners can help transform a space.

Truth telling and challenging expectations

Designed to provide an interim display solution for the space, the banners create a visitor experience and introduce people to the history of the region.

But they are are so much more than just decorative. Staff have noticed they are pushing visitors to question their understanding of Queensland’s history. Many people have no idea what happened in Mapoon – and the history about child removals, missionary discipline, enforced regulations, burning homes and resistance are provoking a response, with some visibly upset. Others are surprised to find a contemporary centre in Mapoon and impressed with the space and displays. This is the importance of these types of displays.

It will be exciting to see how the Cultural Keeping Place, and the whole centre, progresses and evolves over the coming months and years. What’s important now, is that the community has a space where they can advocate for culture, identity and preserve their history for future generations.