“THE council did not want to see the Aborigines living in the camp harassed… The [lord mayor] said ‘if we were to step in and try to clear them from the area it would be most inhumane and only add to the tragedy’.”
Twenty-nine years ago Perth city council faced a situation that closely mirrors the issues at Heirisson Island today, when a group of 30 homeless Aboriginal people were squatting near the Lord Street level crossing in makeshift shelters.
The response from the City of Perth back in 1977 was a far cry from last week’s events, when rangers confiscated tents and camping gear in an effort to uproot people camping on the island in breach of the council’s local law.
The above passage from an article in the West Australian newspaper of June 2, 1977, revealed then-lord mayor Sir Ernest Henry Lee-Steere met with the homeless people, “talking to some of the Aborigines and representatives of organisations trying to get help for them”.
The council also arranged for rubbish bins and temporary toilets at the sight, and the lord mayor said councillors were prepared to “turn a blind eye” to the temporary settlement till the inhabitants’ problems could be solved.
Current lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi has said very little about the Heirisson Island situation, beyond a one-liner hoping for an “amicable” solution.
After last Tuesday’s raid saw a mass of camping gear confiscated, more actions followed through the week, with rangers going back the next day to disperse anyone who returned.
Now there’s just a few people down there, taking shelter under the bridge when it rains.
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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