Roaming Reconciliation
Paul Costigan, March 2008
(originally published in AILA's April 08 Landmark)

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It was during a walk that I occasional take between the National Library and the National Gallery of Australia that the mind went wandering and landed on the actions of our new government and the cuts being made to the National Capital Authority.

But first a comment or two on Reconciliation Place.  Any search of sites to be visited in Canberra rarely reveals that presence of Reconciliation Place within the Parliamentary Triangle. It is most unusual when I take this walk that I encounter anyone at all. Seems this site is just not on the tourist map.

Roaming out from the National Library, the first encounter is with a small avenue of artworks. One piece puzzled me when it first appeared, being not sure what that shape was supposed to represent. A closer inspection revealed it to be a complex work by Jenny Watson. Think her painting style translated into three dimensional landscape forms. Along the same boardwalk are other works, some murmuring, another being a bubbling water feature and other pieces that deserve time to ponder them.

The great thing about art when it works is that little inspiring tingle within the brain. A couple of these transmit creativity and shift the thinking. Then as the walk progresses you encounter some of the original shards, being information structures made of metal, glass and other stuff. These are more didactic information stands telling you tales of indigenous Australia, colonisation and related issues. 

Like traditional memorial plaques, once read, the message is quickly consumed and one moves on. This means that during return visits these tend to be ignored. These didactic semi-sculptural pieces do not do a lot for me. And I wish they would get Paul Kelly to play a different tune. Maybe that is why people stay away. Same tunes and voices every day could be very annoying.

However, I must say I love the more recent arrivals, the large rocks. These have a presence. Maybe we could have a range of large rocks from across the country and these could replace the education thingies as they break down and deteriorate. But please no singing or murmuring rocks. Just allow them to speak through their silence.

Reconciliation Place, being the space between the south side of the High Court across to the road outside the National Library, is indeed becoming a successful statement.  It is changing and will feel different again when National Portrait Gallery open later this year, as it will become a very significant edge to the whole site.

When it was completed, it became very obvious that a subtle design approach had been taken for the main feature, the mound. Unfortunately for the designers of the neighbouring Commonwealth Place the mound cuts the view of Parliament that was incorporated into the original design for Commonwealth Place.

The walk through this area allows for a range of interesting encounters. There’s the lines of eucalyptus trees, quite corners under the trees just off the main track closer to the High Court as well as the now ironical signage on the mound that honours that most recent of our Prime Ministers, he who had the job of opening the completed site in 2002.

An amusing site is t the growth of the three eucalyptus trees perched in a small triangular bed on the east side of the mound.  I like the way the three young trees now disrupt the grand axis that runs from the top of Parliament House to Mount Ainslie. This famed (mythical?) axis has already been cut by the first Parliamentary building, by the War Memorial and by a wall or two on either side of the lake. The new eucs have claimed their place along the axis. I dare say we will see a thesis on them soon.

Maybe one day another NCA will get around to replacing the European style grasses with some ‘messy’ native vegetation, and signal to the rest of the country that water hungry green grasses should be a thing of our past, not our future.

But as one walks over the mound, one is reminded of how important the parliamentary triangle is to the nation. It was to here that Canberrans witnessed people rushing to be present when the apology was delivered. The whole triangle came into its own that day. It was the hub of the nation. The NCA has done not a bad job to keep it thus. Not that I agree with all their deign solutions. Quite the contrary.

However, the poor NCA has been the subject of pretty severe criticism for many years now. Locally their press has not been good, despite the many many grand planning documents and significant achievements and promotions. One local Labor Senator, with a history of spending too much of her time on review committees that have enjoyed snipping at the NCA (and the NGA), was quoted in the press as being pleased by the very severe cuts announced by the new Commonwealth Government. I suspect the thirty people or so now leaving the NCA haven’t looked to her with any kind thoughts.

It has also been a puzzle that over the last few years several other others from outside Canberra have landed unwarranted cheap and undisciplined blows on the NCA. All of this bad press I suspect added up to the momentum that has empowered those advising the new government that severe cuts to the NCA would be not be too opposed.

Maybe we needed a hand from above to clarify for us mere mortals the joint roles of the NCA roles and the local government. But the cuts are quite devastating and remind those interested in the future of Canberra of the time (before I was born of course) when the Commonwealth lost interest in the capital and development slowed. Just when things were starting to catch up, we have this severe setback. I suspect there is more to this story.

A future NCA should employ a Chief Landscape Architect with a brief to use the philosophical approach of the Griffins to let loose a series of changes that would take account of the 21st Century and the contemporary urban landscape issues. A Chief Landscape Architect must have the key role of overseeing Canberra’s projects, particularly as they tend to be ‘LANDSCAPE’ related projects. Simple really!

And finally, if you have not already, next time you visit Canberra, take the walk from the library to the gallery across Reconciliation Place. There are rarely others about, so you will enjoy the stroll and stimulation.

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