With knowledge of Australia’s terrain, fauna, and flora, as well as their continuous care for and interaction with the locations we work in stretching back at least 60,000 years, First Nation people know the stories of Country.
The property industry holds a unique position when it comes to connection to Country, and a history of not always getting it right.
Every new structure and project are unavoidably located on land that has been cultivated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for countless years.
First Nations Australians’ strong ties to their Country ought to be honoured and celebrated, and they should serve as the basis for the industry’s path towards reconciliation.
However, even though its advantages are undeniable, many professionals are unfamiliar with the idea of promoting cross-cultural collaboration.
Sarah Lynn Rees (pictured), a Palawa woman and an Associate and Lead Indigenous Advisor at Jackson Clements Burrows Architects said what connection to Country actually means is different to everyone.
“I don’t live and work in my Country, so the connection that I have to Country here is one that I’m actively developing everyday, but it would not be the same as the connection that a Traditional Custodian here would have to Country,” she said.
“But for me, I would say Country is everything that you can see, and everything that you can’t see, it’s the interconnectedness of all things.
“We understand the tangible aspects of Country, the landscape, the living elements, the trees, the birds, all those sorts of things. But buildings are also Country, they become Country when they’re constructed. They’re made of Country, the materials of Country.”
Rees said property has played a large role in the colonisation of Australia and a first step in connecting to Country is understanding the impact it has had.
“We need to understand the systems that we work with, then we need to figure out if they’re creating barriers that cause harm to the health and well-being of Country, and if they are, then we need to change them,” she said.
She stated that she would welcome planning systems that recognised the traditional rights, beliefs, and lores of the nation they oversee.
“If we had those values, rights and lores of Country embedded in planning law, that would completely change the way that we think about design and approach it,” she said.
According to amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act) of the NSW Government, Aboriginal heritage must be preserved and conserved by design experts.
She said the next step is developing a relationship with that Country, with designing buildings in such a way that it is embedded in that place so that visitors and those that work there can gain an education about Country.
“Communicating the history and the legacy of that site, so that that’s not lost when somebody new moves in, the story of place should become part of their experience of that place.”
Another important factor in designing property around Country is being custodians of the land.
“[We need to be] asking ourselves for every single decision that we make for projects that we’re undertaking, how will this impact the health and well-being of the Country?” Rees said.
“Will it impact the ability of water to flow in the way that water needs to flow? If our solution is engineering it and putting it away somewhere, then that’s probably not the best answer for Country.
“Every single project that we are responsible for is within someone’s Country. And that means that every single project we do has the opportunity to continue the destruction of that Country, maintain its current health status, repair, or celebrate.
“If we want to live in a world where we feel connected to Country, everywhere that we go, we need to start thinking about how we design our buildings and create our spaces with this in mind.”