17 November 2015, 8am – Luke Sayer, The Advocate – News
Tiagarra Aboriginal Cultural and Art Centre reopened.
Tania Latham, of Devonport, said the importance of the centre had
become apparent to her and classmates during their course.
She said that during their unit on advocacy, the TasTAFE community
services class was looking for a real-life example in which to become
involved
“We had Dave Gough from Six Rivers (Aboriginal Corporation) come in to
talk about reconciliation and its importance became really clear,” Ms
Latham said. “It’s a very important area for everyone, not just Indigenous
people.”
Ms Latham said the group feared that if the centre didn’t reopen, it could
mean the future of the whole Bluff area could be much different.
“We don’t want to see it commercially developed because that would mean everyone
would lose access to it.”
Ms Latham said the class began with writing letters to highlight the importance of the
centre to the community.
They then organised a walk as a more public way to draw attention to the importance
of Tiagarra.
“It’s about so much more than the Aboriginal community, but we want as many
people as possible to come along on Friday to help draw attention to it,” she said.
Earlier this month, the Devonport Council and Six Rivers had resumed
discussions about how to reopen the centre, with the council owning the
building and the Corporation leasing the site.
The Walk Together for Tiagarra will gather at the Bluff Skate Park on Friday
at 11am.