The hollow
The Hollow is being built and parked on the land of the Boonwurrung* people of the Kulin nations.
Whilst the landscape varied across the area now known as Glen Eira, before invasion it was characterised by swampy wetlands, grassy open woodlands and sandy soil. Vast communities of River Red Gums were typical, as were Yellow Box, Swamp Gum and Rough-barked Manna Gums.
The Glen Eira Environment Group note that:
"In times of flood the wetland areas would have increased greatly in the area and wildlife would have boomed. In late summer these wetland areas would have shrunk back into the smaller deeper areas of permanent water. Some wetland areas may have dried out completely leaving rich herb fields and other plant food sources, attracting Kangaroos and Wallabies”.
In just over two hundred years, colonisation has ruptured and almost destroyed the complex environmental ecosystems in Glen Eira which had been protected and developed by the Boonwurrung people for over forty thousand years. The Red Gum Woodlands were all but logged by the colonisers for firewood and fences. Despite serving as a life-force for the Boonwurrung people and the area's biodiversity, the wetlands were also drained to hydrate the settler's market gardens. The genocide of the Boonwurrung and First peoples across the continent has caused unspeakable and unimaginable loss of culture, language and history. Today only 8.8% of the City of Glen Eira's population is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2011).
Boonwurrung land
It is integral that we contextualise this build amidst the realities of stolen land, occupation, structural violence and sovereignty. I acknowledge that my European ancestors and I are the beneficiaries of the dispossession and oppression of First Nations people across this continent. As I build a space to call ‘home’, I reflect on this history and work to decolonise my beliefs and actions in solidarity with the Indigenous community to ensure the future for all Australians is just, honest and fruitful. I also acknowledge the long history of active resilience, courage and political organisation of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders fighting for survival, justice and self-determination which continues today.
*Also referred to as the Bunurong,Bunwurrung, Boonwerung, Bunurowrung and Bururong people.
Read more about the Boonwurrung people here.
Efforts to conserve and regenerate indigenous flora is being undertaken by the Glen Eira Environment Group. We thank them for photography permission and research assistance. More info can be found here.