The Block (Sydney)

thumb|right|Eveleigh Street, showing [[Aboriginal flag mural, vacant lot, and derelict terraces c.2003]]

The Block is a colloquial but universally applied name given to a residential block of social housing in the suburb of Redfern, Sydney, bound by Eveleigh, Caroline, Louis, and Vine Streets. Beginning in 1973, houses on this block were purchased over a period of 30 years by the Aboriginal Housing Company (AHC; originally Aboriginal Housing Committee) for use as a project in Aboriginal-managed housing. The Block has been progressively demolished and redeveloped since around 2010, as part of the Pemulwuy Project, completed in mid-2023. There is new housing, including student accommodation in the Col James Student Accommodation building, as well as a gymnasium, Indigenous art gallery, and underground car parking. Murals have been refreshed along the railway wall.

Location

The Block is probably the most famous feature of the suburb of Redfern, although it is located on the western border of that suburb, on the edge of Darlington. Eveleigh Street is its eastern border, with railway lines on the other side of that street, and The Block used to be referred to as Eveleigh Street. Many Aboriginal men living in the area used to work at the Eveleigh St Railyards The Block is near Redfern station.

thumb|right|A mural on the corner of Lawson Street and Eveleigh Street (2008)

Aboriginal Housing Company

The area was significant as an affordable source of low-cost housing for disadvantaged Aboriginal people. The Block has historically been the subject of large protests, starting in the early 1970s, when landlords in the area conducted a campaign of evicting all Aboriginal residents. Developer Ian Kiernan, who later founded Clean Up Australia, acquired around half of the housing in The Block in the early 1970s via his company Tierra del Fuego.) were squatting in his properties, and he called the police several times to evict them. The confrontations with police led to publicity via television news, which alerted the Whitlam government to the situation. In April 1973, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Gordon Bryant announced on Sunday a federal government grant of A$530,000. to commence purchasing houses. The Builders Labourers Federation was very supportive, and key to convincing Whitlam to enter the arrangement. Bob and Sol Bellear attended the auctions, and properties were acquired cheaply.

The narrow back yards were combined into a large communal area and landscape, and included a children's playground. retired boxer Dick Blair (1937–2013), aka Pastor Richard Phillips, then a field officer for South Sydney Community Aid; and non-Indigenous architect Col James (1936–2013).

As houses became available for occupation, priority was given to women with children. Later, a hostel was built at the end of Eveleigh Street to house the homeless people. According to Col James, "Redfern was the first urban land rights [case]; that’s why it is a really important site in historical terms".

According to Col James, although the housing worked really well for its first ten years, it was found that fixed rents led to overcrowding, and there were rent arrears and not enough coming in for ongoing maintenance and repairs. After these issues were sorted, there was a decade in which the AHC secured funding to build new housing, starting with the redevelopment of houses on the corner of Caroline and Louis Streets. It also addressed the issue of what Col James called a "mission mentality" among some residents, by advocating a mixed model, with at least 42 households owning their homes, and around 20 tenants forming five households, for mutual support.

In 2017 it was reported that the core founding group comprised eight people, of whom Lyall Munro was the only one still alive. which led to some opposition, including the Redfern Aboriginal Tent Embassy (based on the idea of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy set up in Canberra in 1972), set up in 2014 by Lyall Munro Jnr, his wife Jenny Munro, and other activists, to protest against the redevelopment.

During the 2010s and 2020s, the Block has been the site of many developments.

On 14 June 2017, AHC submitted the development application to the NSW Department of Planning for Precinct 3, the Col James Accommodation, comprising 522 rooms, As of 2020, Mick Mundine was CEO of the AHC.

The design of the Pemulwuy Project won an award for development excellence in 2021. A complex designed by Nordon Jago comprising housing, gymnasium, and Indigenous art gallery was recognised at the Urban Taskforce Development Excellence Awards in November 2021.

2004 Redfern riot

On 14 February 2004, The Block was the scene of 2004 Redfern riots following the death of an Aboriginal boy, TJ Hickey. Hickey died after, while on his bicycle, he collided with a protruding gutter, was flung into the air and was impaled on a fence outside a block of units off Phillip Street, Waterloo, as he was fleeing police. Hickey was transported from the scene to the Sydney Children's Hospital in a critical but stable condition. He died with his family by his side on 15 February due to the severity of his wounds.

The community were upset about the death, and riots ensued. Redfern railway station was damaged by fire. The ticketing area and station master's office were significantly damaged, and the windows in the front of the station were bricked up for almost a year afterwards to prevent further attacks. They were later replaced with glass windows.

Footnotes

References

External links

Aboriginal Housing Company Limited on Facebook