The transformation of a river island into an Indigenous culture and heritage hub is a step closer with the NSW Government moving towards handing the site to a local Aboriginal land council.
A statement of intent was announced on Monday to negotiate the potential transfer of ownership of Peat Island, on the Hawkesbury River in the Central Coast region, to Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council.
The island is the site of a former asylum that was opened in 1911 and decommissioned in 2010, which has not been used since.
The Darkinjung land council's CEO Brendan Moyle told AAP the plan is to turn the island into a centre that celebrates Aboriginal culture while honouring and respecting the people who lived in the asylum.
NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts said the statement of intent with Darkinjung LALC "will aim to reunite the site with the custodians of the land, ensuring it will be preserved and acknowledged well into the future".
NSW Planning Minister Anthony Roberts. Source: AAP
While government proposals in recent years to develop the site have prompted community concerns, Mr Moyle says the Darkinjung council is not planning extensive new construction.
"What would we be looking to do would be to remediate the current buildings to restore them, both their heritage significance while providing the internals at modern standards," he said.
"We want to develop something that's really inclusive of both Aboriginal culture but also paying respects to what Peat Island became and what it means for the broader community."
Chairperson of the land council, B J Duncan said they will create "something that showcases and preserves Aboriginal culture and contemporary Australian history a way that respects the past use of Peat Island and its former residents".
Mr Duncan said that the island has potential to become a "centrepiece of Australia's cultural tourism in NSW".
"You don't need to go to Central or Northern Australia to celebrate the richness of Aboriginal culture and heritage in contemporary Australia," he said.
Currently, possible developments include an Aboriginal Discovery Centre, Indigenous Walking Path and cultural tourism opportunities.
Accommodation on the island or nearby would allow tourists to use the island as a gateway to explore sites up and down the river, Mr Moyle said.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast Adam Crounch described the partnership an act of reconciliation.
NSW Government and Darkinjung Land Council draft a statement of intent for Peat Island. Source: Adam Crouch MP Facebook
"The Government recognises the significance of Peat Island, in both its Indigenous and European histories, and the impact it has had on all Australians over the last hundred years," he said.
"Working with the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council gives us an opportunity to partner with a local land council to pay respect to these shared histories."
Mr Crounch said both parties are also working to establish a memorial "to remember the residents of the island's institutional past".
Darkinjung LALC and the NSW government will continue working through the planning processes, including community consultation.
