Perth Voice Interactive

A YEAR to the day that Bella Bropho’s group of activists set up camp at Matagarup (aka Heirisson Island), the island has become a refuge for the homeless.

Ms Bropho came to the island March 1, 2015. There had been other protest groups there, but her main goal setting up the First Nations Refugee Camp was to fight the forced closure of remote communities.

Today it’s largely a camp for people with nowhere else to live, with numbers hovering between 40 and 60 and sometimes more. Ms Bropho’s brother Herbert and Nyoongar man Clinton Pryor invite people sleeping on the streets of Perth and Northbridge to come down to the island, offering a safe place to sleep.

One man the Voice spoke to said his first night at Matagarup was the best sleep he could remember. Living out of a tent, he says it’s a far better option than sleeping on the streets of Northbridge where, in scenes reminiscent of Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, large groups of teenage kids pour from trains on Friday and Saturday nights looking for trouble. He says homeless people are often their first targets.

Homeless shelters also aren’t a good option: drugs are too easy to get hold of in them, he says, making it tough to recover from addiction. He prefers Matagarup’s no drugs and no alcohol policy.

We also met a mother and son. During the day she goes into the city to “caj” (cajole—beg) for cash for food. She cops some abuse from people in passing cars but also receives donations of gear and supplies. Ms Bropho warmly welcomes the new arrivals.

“It’s a sanctuary for them, a bit of protection from the harm out there,” she says.

“That’s why Clinton and Herbert went [to the city] to try to at least get the word out to everybody: there is a safe place, and that is Matagarup.

“I lost two sisters to the streets of Perth, and a younger brother. Living the lifestyle like that, you wish to god you wake up in the morning and get to live another day.

“It’s a dangerous place, you get mobbed or harassed by police. It’s not happy, it’s survival.”

Perth city council’s by-laws ban camping on the island, a rule disputed by Ms Bropho who says the by-laws are overridden by state and federal laws, including the Aboriginal Heritage Act of 1972.

Council raids to confiscate tents and camping equipment have apparently not occurred since last August.

The PCC continues to ignore our requests for information.

by DAVID BELL and MATTHEW DWYER