Quarantine Station Wharf - point of entry for most quarantined migrants.

The Friends of Quarantine Station was formed in April, 1999 to bring together people concerned about the State Government’s plans to privatise Quarantine Station.  This is our first Annual General Meeting.  The group has grown continually, both in membership and in recognition, and has been effective in making our concerns heard.  A wide range of expertise is represented in the membership of FroQS. Many FroQS members have given freely of their time and expertise to organise activities in the last 18 months.  

The context in which our activities are taking place:

Potted History:

By 1980, the Quarantine Station was not needed for quarantine purposes. At this time the site was owned by the Commonwealth Government. Access to the site was limited. Negotiations took place to transfer the site to the New South Wales Government. Meanwhile a job-creation scheme was established to renovate the buildings. In 1984, the Quarantine Station was formally transferred to NSW for use and management by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which at that time was trying to relocate from the head office site in Bridge St.

The NPWS initiated research into the history and heritage of the site, prepared detailed plans for site interpretation and encouraged innovative ideas for education and presentation. Lady Jean Foley worked for three years at this time researching for the book, which was published with the title "In Quarantine".

However, by 1987 the NPWS head office had moved to Hurstville. The NPWS had begun to view the cost of maintaining QS as a financial liability and so began the quest to lease out the site. The accounting system did not assign the income from conferences and tours specifically to the maintenance of the site.

From soon after NPWS occupation until the present day, NPWS have conducted tours and encouraged school groups to study the heritage of this site. Thousands of people have attended conferences in the Station. This has meant that a great many more people are aware of its heritage value now than was the case in 1987. 

Australian sense of identity:

Meanwhile, as a nation, Australians have become more conscious of their history and heritage and of the way Australia is seen by the rest of the world. Next year, 2001, is an important reminder of the establishment of the Australian Commonwealth Government. On an individual level, more people are becoming interested in studying their own geneology and family histories. Records and cemeteries maintained by various managers of the Quarantine Station during the 19^th and 20^th Centuries are most important for this process. We have seen legislation in the last few years to support the maintenance of heritage items and in 1999 the Heritage Council of NSW were given more authority*(1).  This has impacted on the process to lease the Quarantine Station.  

Reconciliation:

There have been nation-wide initiatives during the 20^th Century to bring about equity in this country, to understand the needs of Aboriginal people, and to work out ways to have all people in this country reaching their full potential whilst preserving the identity of each cultural group.

Laws have been passed and are being proposed to facilitate this process and there are wide-ranging opinions amongst all groups of Australians about exactly which process will bring about the best outcome for all.

The Quarantine Station situation is unique in its representation of so many of these issues and the outcome at North Head is very important for this reason. 

The Environmental Movement:

During the 19^th Century, there was alarm raised about the possibility of overpopulation of the planet and during the 20^th Century the environment movement gained increasing momentum, which has led to changes in Australian law. With the advent of space travel, there has been widespread consciousness of the finite nature of our planet and the resources on it. This process is continuing but has resulted in laws such as the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 which has been invoked to protect the six identified threatened species on the Quarantine Station site. 

The nature of democracy:

We live in a democracy and are proud of that fact. In our FroQS seminar last September, Sue Sacker, quoted the saying that "The price of democracy is eternal vigilance". David Barr, MP, has raised an alarm that it is dangerous for a Government to ignore public protest - citizens become cynical if they see power overrule.

There have been laws passed recently that are designed to encourage public participation in decision making processes. There have also been laws passed that are designed to make information more freely available to the public to assist in their responsible participation.

This month, November 2000, there have been new laws announced that will make it easier for local groups to formally establish heritage significance and participate in the preservation of this heritage. 

The impact of Information Age:

Internet has become a force to be reckoned with - any citizen can now sit in their own home in the middle of the night and read the laws of this state for themselves. Not only can they do that - they can also make contacts in other countries and compare our law with international laws where those countries display them. Citizens in this country can now participate with international environmental and cultural thinking. 

Peace and Defence Technology:

The Commonwealth Government have decided that they no longer need the land and buildings they have held in Sydney Harbour for defence purposes in the 20^th Century.. North Head has the Artillery School sharing a boundary with the Sydney Harbour National Park and several houses along the road leading to the Quarantine Station. All of the Defence sites and also the Police College are within the area that once was part of the Quarantine Station..

The Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust

The Commonwealth has set up the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust whose powers are still being discussed at Federal level. North Head has thus become the focus of a test of Commonwealth/State relationships and laws. 

The Olympic Games:

During the 7 year lead-up to the Olympics, Australians became even more aware of our nation - of our indigenous heritage and of our multiculturally enriched society - as well of our diverse natural environment. The Opening Ceremony was an inspiration to us all as it wove all those threads together. It is in that context that the Quarantine Station presents us with a unique opportunity to put those high hopes into an enduring reminder of shared heritage and the challenge is to find ways to ensure that this heritage benefits all Australians during the 21^st Century and to find realistic ways to finance it.

Australians invested years of effort and many resources to present the Olympics. Australia has become an appealing place now for millions of people and we expect a big increase in tourism. But will tourism finance the development of North Head? 

Tourism - ecotourism in the 21^st Century:

Tourism is not necessarily the answer - we may find it very difficult to maintain complete honesty in the way we present the unique heritage of North Head and at the same time "amuse" tourists or provide them with something they would pay to see.

North Head is unique as a place where people of all cultures have come to terms with their own mortality and have honoured the lives of those who died. But it is also a place where healing has taken place, where people have studied healing arts and worked to prevent sickness. The question now is, what can we take of this shared heritage into the 21^st Century and in what ways can we all join hands and build on this heritage?

The Annual General Meeting of FroQS

The charm of the Friends of Quarantine Station Inc committee has been that there have been no formal titles or positions - tasks have been suggested and people have offered to do them. However, as an Incorporated Association, we now need to formally elect officers and hope that the culture of everyone "pitching in" continues to operate.

In October, 1999, Friends of Quarantine Station became an Incorporated Association under the Department of Fair Trading and the objects of the Association are : 

1. To promote interest in and awareness of the Quarantine Station Manly.
2. To campaign for the preservation of the Quarantine Station as an item of national heritage
3. To work with Government Institutions on policy matters related to the Quarantine Station

We declared that the principal activities of the association are: 

1. conduct social functions as fund raising activities
2. conduct conferences and workshops on the history of the Quarantine Station
3. write submissions to Government Instrumentalities on heritage issues

Friends of Quarantine Station Inc represents many interest groups but we have found that we have many concerns that are shared by all of us and these include: 

1. To research and make available to the public the heritage of the site
2. To ensure that people today and in the future will be able to appreciate the experiences of those who came to this site - this includes thousands of years of indigenous people, 130 years of staff of the Quarantine Station and shipping companies, people of all nations who were quarantined here, temporary internees, restoration teams, and 16 years to date of National Parks and Wildlife Service staff, researchers, attendees of conferences and tours.

Some notable events over the last 18 months include:

Eight newsletters have been published and mailed out to members of FroQS. An information kit was developed and an information leaflet handed out at the Dinner. The manlyquarantine.com website has displayed information about events.

During 1999

Early in 1999, Sue Sacker, then Mayor of Manly, and Peter McDonald, then Member of Parliament for Manly, withdrew from the process of negotiation concerning leasing the Quarantine Station to Mawland Developers. Their withdrawal was in protest about the scale of the proposed developments but have released no details about those plans as they were sworn to secrecy. Concerned citizens formed an action group.

An important factor has been the negotiations concerning the release of Defence Lands from the Commonwealth to the State. The Commonwealth has set up the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust whose powers are still being discussed at Federal level. During the year, the National Parks Association has maintained a dialogue with people in the National Parks and Wildlife Service concerning the Quarantine Station (as well as many other issues of course). Several members of FroQS are also members of NPA. Some are members of Historic Houses Trust and National Trust.

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April - Negotiations begun to achieve National Estate Listing for North Head

May - Lady Jean Foley, historian, mentioned the Aboriginal significance of the QS site and notified FroQS that the proposed restaurant on the wharf is close to an Aboriginal burial site.

June -Friends of Quarantine Station held a stall at QS Open Day.

July -Fundraising evening with special guest Tom Uren at QS

August -Participation in Jam for the Dam rally at Manly together with the campaigners for Manly Dam and Currawong.

August - QS was listed by the Australian National Trust as an endangered place

September - some Japanese teachers who were interested in the Quarantine Station heritage, including the experiences of Japanese people quarantined on the site, provided webspace free of charge for the FroQS website. When members of the FroQS committee realised the potential of the website, they voted to launch one locally with an easily remembered domain name.

September - FroQS organised a Seminar for 120 people held at QS at which there were several well-qualified speakers - a geologist, a biologist, a historian and Alan Madden from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. Between them these speakers outlined the unique natural, historical and Aboriginal heritage of North Head. Sue Sacker outlined the complex web of laws and governing authorities under which actions at North Head take place.

September - the Chinese community visit QS with Helen Sham-Ho especially to appreciate what the quarantine experience meant to Chinese people. 

October, 1999 - Formal Incorporation as Friends of Quarantine Station Inc  

October - Information stalls on the Corso, Manly

November -Submission to exhibition of 1992 Conservation Management Plan

December - Website launched

December - Stall at Ocean Care Day, Manly

December 1999 to February 2000  -Many members worked on Consultant’s Reference Group for new Conservation Management Plan. The people who contributed to this plan generously in their own time had wide-ranging expertise e.g. builder, heritage architect, civil engineer, botanist, biologist, environmentalist, teacher, medical professional, historian, researcher, manager. Other organisations also made comment or were closely following the process - National Trust, National Parks Association, the Heritage Council, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Lands Council.

During 2000

January - Newspapers carried an article about a leaked document indicating that the National Parks and Wildlife Act was about to be altered to facilitate commercial developments within National Parks

January - the Minister for the Environment signed a Conditional Agreement to Lease the QS with Mawland Hotel Management.

This Conditional Agreement was signed BEFORE the public comment phase on the Conservation Management Plan was complete.

January - Freedom Of Information application lodged to see the Conditional Agreement to Lease – this was refused which led to an appeal in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal which took place in July 2000.

February - articles appeared in various newspapers about secrecy in Government and about freedom of information.

February - FroQS submission to the new CMP was extensive. Submission closing date was February 10^th but the NPWS accepted a submission lodged within a week or so of that. The timing had been difficult with this mammoth task having to be undertaken over Christmas, New Year and holiday times.

February - Mawland Hotel Management offered information sessions at the QS for the public to see what was being proposed. FroQS offered alternative information to those attending Mawland’s Information Sessions.

April - A new, much improved Conservation Management Plan finalized and ratified by the Heritage Council.

April - Mawland Hotel Management will need to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. Suggestions for this were lodged at stakeholders' meetings.

May - Fund raising dinner for 100 with special guest Peter Garrett. Information was given out at this dinner. A continual slide show of stunning photographs of QS was running in one corner. The money was raised from this dinner to assist FroQS prepare submissions to the EIS.

June - Extended terms of reference for the Environmental Impact Statement

July - National Trust invited Bob Debus, minister for the Environment, to a breakfast at which he was prepared to answer questions. Two breakfast guests who were members of FroQS asked questions and one question was to request that, if the Quarantine Station EIS public discussion phase were to begin in September, could the discussion time be extended beyond one month as the Olympics would be absorbing the attention of most citizens. Bob Debus assured the gathering that the QS EIS public discussion phase would be of sufficient duration.

July - Freedom of Information action in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal  - part of the Conditional Agreement to Lease was supplied as a result. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre studied the case and decided that the level of public interest was high enough to warrant their supplying of solicitor services at no cost to FroQS. James Johnson, former head of the Environmental Defenders Office was the barrister. The ADT acknowledged the evidence of support from Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Nature Conservation Council, National Trust, National Parks Association and the Heritage Council.

August - FroQS committee member Dr Anne Noonan appeared on Channel 7 morning program to talk about QS

September - Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust held a public meeting in Manly to explain the process by which decisions concerning Defence Lands will be made.

September - we asked the NPWS  if it would be possible to have a half-yearly report in October or November on the implementation of the Conservation Management Plan which was ratified by The Heritage Council ratified on April 14^th .  There are 16 items to be implemented in the first twelve months (see Addendum 2). We are aware that some of the items to be implemented during the first year have, in fact, been initiated. We are pleased to know that the NPWS have contracted Paul Davies to prepare the six detailed precinct plans for the QS, the minister has signed off a Recovery Plan for the little penguins and an Aboriginal Heritage Study has been authorised.

October - several FroQS members were amongst the many citizens applying to work on the consultative committee for North Head being established by the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust.

November - several FroQS members have joined a working group as part of the task Paul Davies has undertaken to prepare the six detailed precinct plans

November - some members of FroQS have been selected as members of the North Head consultative committee for the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust whilst all those who applied have been invited to the launch of the book entitled "Reflections on a Maritime City - an appreciation of the Trust Lands on Sydney Harbour".

November - FroQS formally became affiliated with Nature Conservation Council at their AGM. 

During the 18months - support for our campaign has come from:  

Our patron, Tom Uren, David Barr, M.P., National Parks Association, Manly Council, National Trust, Nature Conservation Council, Manly Council, Sydney Harbour Defenders, Manly Environment Centre, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, The Heritage Council, the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Lands Council, North Head Alliance, the Greens and many community groups. 

Dozens of items of coverage have appeared in the print media through 1999 and 2000.

References - some of the laws mentioned in the report:  

1. The NSW Government Heritage Policy 1996 established the NSW Heritage Office. The Heritage Amendment Act 1998 which commenced 2 April 1999 (Gazette No. 27, 5 March 1999, p. 1546) meant that the Conservation Management Plan needed to be ratified by the Heritage Council. A central feature of the amendments was

·     the clarification and strengthening of shared responsibility for heritage

·     management between local government authorities, responsible for items of local

·     significance, and the NSW Heritage Council. The council retained its consent

·     powers for alterations to heritage items of State significance. One of the major

·     initiatives of the new legislation was the creation of the State Heritage Register

·     which includes all places previously protected by permanent conservation orders

·     and items identified as being of State significance in heritage and conservation

·     registers prepared by State government instrumentalities.

2. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Bill 1998 will replace the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984. It seeks to reduce the duplication between Commonwealth, State and Territory laws by accrediting State legislation. The Bill provides for a discretionary mechanism for the Commonwealth to act where protection of places and objects of particular significance may be in the national interest.
3. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament in June 1999. The objects of the Act are to provide for the protection of the natural environment, especially those aspects of the environment that are matters of national environmental significance, and to promote ecologically sustainable development through the conservation and use of natural resources. It also aims to promote the conservation of natural heritage through biodiversity conservation and a cooperative approach with governments and the community. It recognises the role and knowledge of Indigenous people and biodiversity matters, as well as the implementation of Australia's international responsibilities.
4. Administrative Decisions Legislation Amendment Act 1997 commenced in March 1999
5.  Native Title (New South Wales) Amendment Act 1998 commenced in March 1999
6. Protection of the Environment Administration Amendment (Environmental Education) Act 1998  commenced January 1999
7. State Records Act 1998 commenced July 1999
8. Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority Act 1998 commenced February 1999   

Addendum 1

Statement by Deputy Premier and Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Dr Andrew Refshauge, April, 2000.

The following is an edited version of a speech delivered by Dr Andrew Refshauge at the EnergyAustralia National Trust Heritage Awards on Tuesday 4 April 2000, and copied from the Heritage Council website.

What is heritage?  

     Heritage is the story of our past and the evidence of our history. 

     Places, buildings, artefacts, landscapes, objects and memories all tell a story and help us understand our past. 

     The stories of our past - some tangible, some intangible - are invaluable in painting a detailed and fascinating picture of our shared history. 

     By understanding the story of our past we gain a better understanding of the present and our future aspirations. 

     We can more readily appreciate the reasons why our country and our community exist and function the way they do today. 

So what does it mean?  

     Heritage means different things to different groups in our community - we need to recognise that the story of the past has very different meanings for indigenous Australians and some of our ethnic communities. 

     Their stories are deeply affected by Government policies of the past, such as assimilation and the White Australia policy which caused immense sorrow and suffering. 

     The Australia of the twenty-first century is a country of great cultural and social diversity. But we need to understand the past that has shaped modern Australia - both the good and bad. 

     For this reason I will be devoting a lot of attention to indigenous and multicultural heritage over the next three years.

Addendum 2

Précis taken from the QS Conservation Management Plan 2000

IMMEDIATE [ONE YEAR] PROGRAM 

1. Adopt this Conservation Management Plan as the policy basis for the conservation and management of the North Head Quarantine Station.  

2. Undertake urgent building stabilisation and maintenance works.  

3. Provide protection for artefacts, sites, etc, under threat from severe environmental factors.   

4. Retain all artefacts and heritage objects in their current location, and prepare a Heritage Objects and Moveable Heritage Plan..  

5. Carefully reduce the level of fire hazard.  

6. Develop and implement a fire control and hazard reduction plan.  

7. Maintain security over the site  

8. Undertake the preparation of an Interpretation Plan, for implementation within a 2 to 3 year time frame, for the site as a whole.  

9. Undertake continued historical and documentary research; and the curatorial overhaul of the NHQS Research Centre.

10. Provide security for threatened species of flora and fauna.  

11.Complete and implement the Recovery Plans for the endangered Little Penguin population at Manly and the Recovery Plan for the Long-nosed Bandicoot, North Head.  

12. Prepare and implement the Recovery Plan for the Camfields Stringybark species; the Red-crowned Toadlet; the Powerful Owl; and for Acacia terminalis ssp terminalis.  

13. Continue liaison with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Council and other Aboriginal organisations. This liaison should encompass Aboriginal interpretative programs and use the Aboriginal sites database.  

14. Continue liaison with Manly Council, Statutory Authorities and interested parties.  

15. NPWS to undertake discussions with the Interim Sydney Harbour Federation Trust to explore conservation and development 'outcomes' for the NHQS and School of Artillery sites in view of the Trust's acquisition of the former Defence property at the end of the year 2000.  

16. NPWS to undertake liaison with the North Head Liaison Committee to encourage community consultation and management and interpretation of the North Head Quarantine Station. An Aboriginal employment program, including the Quarantine Station and other areas of Sydney Harbour National Park, would directly involve the Aboriginal community in the management of the place, and provide a mechanism for increased liaison between the Service and the Aboriginal community.