CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
Only 100 metres from an internationally-condemned spectacle of Aboriginal dispossession, six inner-city trendies are drinking coffee and playing with their iPads, on Redfern’s Abercrombie street. They say they are exhausted.
“It’s just so hard, you know. We are pretty much the new Redfern community – and while we feel for the Aboriginal people being evicted on The Block (Redfern Tent Embassy) – there is nothing we can do” says Tobias, a graphic designer – who bought a terrace house in Redfern four years ago.
These are “new faces” of Redfern. Just a handful from within a growing community of media, sales and marketing professionals who proudly wear the badge of “edgy” – living alongside a deep-rooted Aboriginal community, in an area that was once infamous for it’s high rates of inner-city crime.
The pending evictions of the Aboriginal community on Eveleigh street is only going to raise house prices in the area and in turn, benefit these timid young Australians who have moved in.
“The Block is such a remarkable cultural icon. But like, you know… I think it’s time to go” says the fair-weather human rights activist.
The once iconic community of terrace houses, originally built for low-cost Aboriginal Housing – have long been bulldozed – only to be replaced by an Aboriginal Tent Embassy of peaceful protestors.
In February, an eviction notice was handed to the residents of the Tent Embassy – to make space for the $70 million Pemulwuy project – a development that looks to host a much smaller number of units for Aboriginal families, who will be crowded out by office space and student accommodation.
However many in the Aboriginal community feel this is a money-making ploy by the bureaucrats – fearing the accommodation will never be available for Aboriginal people.
Cinda, another Anglo-Saxon yuppie also gave comment.
“My number one cause right now is the plight of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”
“However, I do think it would be appropriate to send them all out into the country where they might feel a bit more comfortable. It’s sad to say, but Redfern is more of a hip area and maybe it’s not the place for them anymore,”
“It’s just like, they are taking up perfectly good inner-city space. If they left, we could fit at least another six cafe’s on The Block. Maybe even a 24-hour gym.”
In December, the developer for the Pemulwuy project, DeiCorp, was forced to explain why an advertisement for another of its projects completed in 2012 stated that Aborigines had moved out of the suburb.
“What are we – noxious weeds or something?” asks Mick Gooda, The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.
DeiCorp boss Fouad Deiri suggested a language breakdown by the Chinese firm contracted to market it’s units, Great Fortune Investments, caused it to advertise: “The Aboriginals have already moved out, now Redfern as [sic] the last virgin suburb close to city, it will have great potential for the capital growth in the near future.”
Out of the original, pre-gentrified community – both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous old timers of Redfern say that passively-racist hipsters are far worse than actively-racist policemen.
“At least racist cops will show their prejudices to your face. These hipsters are the smuggest pieces of shit I’ve ever met” says a popular Italian greengrocer.
“It used to be all about the Rabbitohs and tough, working-class families. Now it’s all about the Sydney f**king swans and Range Rovers… Fuck ’em”
“I’d prefer another heroin epidemic over these fuckwits”
“Send them all out into the country where they might feel a bit more comfortable”. Such an ignorant and offensive comment. This article is quite shocking really.
Shame on you….the spirit is in the land…..you cannot ignore that.
Having lived in on the BLOCK for about 10 years (about 3 years ago) I found that it was the epitome of COMMUNITY.
Words actually fail me to say what I really mean at the thought of ‘Smug’ Fucks moving into an area such as Redfern.
They Wouldn’t & Don’t understand the true meaning of COMMUNITY.
They’d be walking around with their noses stuck up their own fucking asses, if not lookin snooty n shit.
Keep PADDINGTON where it belongs!!!!
Yu r nothin but a bunch of racist fukn pigs & that’s fukn it jus remember always ways & always will b Aboriginal land fuck faces.!?
Cindy I think we should put you ON a boat back to were ever your people from then you might feel more comfortable.
What do you think we all live in country?
REDFERN THE BLOCK WILL ALWAYS BE HOME TO ME AND MY FAMILY AND THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE
This is the only land we have in the inner city Redfern to house aboriginal family in Aboriginal homes.Does the greed ever STOP. You have taken our land our culture n our aboriginal language from us and now the only piece of land we can say is Aboriginal land we own yous want that for your cafes to sit and talk crap everyday. I think the racist attitude saying send us to the country is ridiculous go back to the country your ancestor originally come from you might feel more comfortable.If it was your choice you would gas all of us like the Hitlers yous are .THE RACISM IS RIFE IN REDFERN
Greed to much greed we are put on this earth once…. Peoples in the Aboriginal Community that don’t look after community when it’s their time to leave us will do alone cause they never looked after what was given to us Kooris….always was Aboriginal Land….I miss our community
Typical white fulla scense of entitlement. We the people need to be lobbying for more smart legal people, constitutional lawyers and people that know how to beet these self righteous egocentric
I’ve Never Read Anything Like This Racist Shit In My Life. These Yuppies Are So Far Up There Own Arses They Can’t See The Daylight. Fuckin Real Imbiciles. They’re Parents Must Be So Proud Of Them NOT. The Clowns Are Absolutely Disgusting !!!!
how can they use an excuse to say we would do much better in the country then in redfern when they taking the country from us too. land grabbing fuggers. and hope them immigration ppl steal your white land too. then only will u understand.
I’ve been to Betoota twice about 25 years ago, but i believe the current population of the town is now zero. Isn’t the Betoota Advocate, which claims to be the oldest newspaper in Australia, published by journalists living in Sydney?
I’m very glad the “paper” is giving online space to this very important issue though! The need for affordable housing is great, and the local indigenous community of Redfern should not be moved anywhere – that is their home! Sydney does not need another inner city expensive trendy suburb!!!
Haven’t we learned anything from all the past mistakes on this issue of moving people from place to place!
“It’s just like, they are taking up perfectly good inner-city space. If they left, we could fit at least another six cafe’s on The Block. Maybe even a 24-hour gym.”
Another 6 cafe`s and a 24 hour Gym are really going to add so much to the community.
We have been occupying their perfectly good space for well over 200 odd years now, perhaps we should be evicted.
Im glad today that my eyes have been opened by this article to the passive level of racisim that exists in the Redfern community.
Chumps!
the worlds full of fair weather activists but even these comments attributed to them just shows what an insensitive, selfish world we live in now. Gimme gimme gimme!
The Yuppies as you call the wish to work. The aborigines wish to sit and drink all day that is the difference. They were given beautiful Terrace Houses by Gough and all they did was wreck them. It is better they go to the outback and take the people from Struggle Street Mt Druitt with them and leave the homes to those people only interested in taking care of them. Anyone that can pay for drugs alcohol and cigarettes can afford to buy a home.
This has to be the tightest simplification of Sydney’s Aboriginal history I’ve seen to date.