Inclusion and education on agenda for marking WA's bicentenary in 2029

Western Australia's bicentenary should be a commemoration rather than a celebration, according to the new chair of the committee that will guide the state's approach to 2029.Educator and Noongar leader Colleen Hayward, who will chair WA's newly created 2029 committee, said the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the Swan River Colony would be a significant event for the state.Professor Hayward told 102.5 ABC Perth she considered the anniversary would be a commemoration, rather than a celebration."This is something that we are commemorating. Some people will want to also celebrate, others will not, but commemoration means we are all acknowledging the 200 years," she said."I think that level of unity of response and the level of inclusiveness is really important for all of us."In 1979, when WA celebrated its sesquicentenary, the celebrations included concerts, merchandise and a re-enactment of the arrival of Captain James Stirling and his soldiers on the Swan River foreshore, watched on by Prince Charles.The prince, now King Charles, also unveiled a statue of Captain Stirling on Hay Street.On March 10, 1979, there was a re-enactment of the landing of Captain James Stirling at the shore of the Swan River, attended by Prince Charles. (Supplied: Ronald H. Armstrong, State Library of Western Australia)While community consultation is still ongoing, activities are likely to look very different in 2029."I actually want to get beyond the concerts and the free shows and the fireworks, which is not to say that they don't have a part, but I really want to look at what's the legacy," Prof Hayward said."There might be concerts and there might be fireworks, but they can't be the whole story."WA's future questionedCommunity consultation work has already begun, with a report due to be presented to the committee in several weeks."[The report] I think will be really telling in terms of what people, ordinary people, are saying could or should be included in a commemorative event," she said."I think for me, one of the things is we want everyone in this state to feel part of this, not only part of the commemoration, but part of this state."What's our social fabric? What is it that we want to be known for as a state?"That is, all of us, and properly with an Aboriginal foundation, but recognising too the role that every cultural group has played in the building of this state."It really is about how did we get to be here and where do we want to go? What do we want the next 200 years to look like?"Legacy building ideasProf Hayward said she was interested in investigating projects, like digitising the state's archives, that could make a lasting difference to the state."As dry as that sounds, any of us who are wanting to trace and track our family histories ought to be able to do that in an easy and accessible way," she said."Until those records are digitised, it's actually hard for us to get access to the information about our own families and our own family stories. I think that would be a great inclusion."Noongar artist Laurel Nannup's sculpture First Contact faces the river at Elizabeth Quay. (720 ABC Perth: Emma Wynne)She said she would also like to see initiatives that offer more education to the community about the places where they live."A large number of our suburb names are Aboriginal names, but people don't necessarily know that," she said."Let's actually talk about the meaning that underpins this, because it's a meaning for all of us."For me, as an Aboriginal woman, an Aboriginal person, I want people to be able to connect through us, as well as with us, to this place, which is also theirs as well as ours."