Aboriginal Heritage Act - Thebarton Development (former West End Brewery)

If you a Traditional Owner or an Aboriginal party with an interest in the Adelaide region, we want to hear from you.

What's being decided?

The Urban Renewal Authority – Renewal SA (Applicant) proposes to undertake ground disturbing works, earthworks and other works associated with the re- development for the former West End brewery site (Application Areas). The north of the Application Area intersects with the boundary of the Karrawirra Pari, a site reported to Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation as the ‘Karrawirraparri (River Torrens) Kaurna Mythological Site’. The Karrawirra Pari and its surrounds is of continuing cultural importance to the Kaurna people.

Your views will help decide whether ministerial authorisations should be granted to the Applicant to potentially damage, disturb or interfere with Aboriginal sites, objects and ancestral remains (together, heritage) to enable the proposed development.

Background

The Minister, who is responsible for the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act), has received an application for authorisations under the Act from the Applicant to enable the construction of around 1300 new homes (20% affordable housing), described as a ‘mixed use development’ that will include commercial, hospitality and retail tenancies. (Project) Approximately 20% of the Project area, including along the riverbank will be retained as open space. Enhancement to the Karrawirra Pari will include improving public access, a shared use path and planting extensive native vegetation along parts of the river.

The Project would include excavation and ground disturbance associated with:

• constructing foundations for multi-storey apartment buildings, possibly including basement parking
• building roads, kerbing, public parking, footpaths, and shared use paths
• trenching for services, sewer mains, potable water mains and associated infrastructure
• creation of open spaces, including installing amenities such as seating, shelters, BBQ facilities and play equipment
• planting of trees and irrigation systems including swales and rain gardens
• other associated infrastructure that may be required to deliver the Project

Under the Act, authorisations under sections 21 and 23 are required to excavate land for the purposes of uncovering Aboriginal sites, objects and/or ancestral remains (together, heritage) and to damage, disturb and/or interfere with heritage. Further, authorisation under section 29(1)(b) has been sought to allow, should Kaurna Traditional Owners support it, radiocarbon dating of heritage samples, as this would require their removal from the state to suitable testing facilities interstate or overseas

Get involved

Section 13 of the Act requires the Minister to consult with relevant Traditional Owners, the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee (Committee) and any other Aboriginal people or organisations that he considers may have an interest in this matter.

If you are a Traditional Owner or an interested Aboriginal party, please read the Consultation Information Pack and Consultation Notice and consider responding to at least the following questions:

1. Should the authorisations sought by the Applicant be granted? Why or why not?
2. If the authorisations are granted, what conditions (if any) should be imposed on them?
3. Will the Project provide you with any direct or indirect benefits (e.g., cultural, financial or personal)?
4. Are there any other matters the Minister should consider when deciding this application?

If you wish to learn more, to lodge a submission and/or be notified once a decision in this matter has been made, you can:

• Call us on (08) 8363 8622
• Visit AAR’s website
• Email your feedback to AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au
• Post your feedback to:
  Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation
  Attorney-General’s Department
  GPO Box 464, ADELAIDE SA 5001

See the Consultation Information Pack for further details on how to lodge a verbal or written submission.

AAR is available to assist people to record submissions if they have any difficulty in doing so.

Submissions must be received by AAR by Friday 10 January 2025

What are the next steps?

You may request that AAR keeps any cultural information in your submission confidential. AAR will facilitate these requests, where possible, in line with procedural fairness principles. Otherwise, AAR will forward your submissions in full to the Applicant for comment. Once the public consultation has closed, AAR will forward your submissions and the Applicant’s comments to the Committee, whose views will also be sought.

AAR will collate all submissions, the Applicant’s responses to them, the Committee’s advice, and its own recommendations to the Minister to make a final decision about the application.