Red Dirt In Bondi: The Story of Building Bridges (3MDR, Melbourne)

By Meeghan Bell

Listen to Red Dirt In Bondi: The Story of Building Bridges'

"The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's
slab. They are like fish swimming about in a vast and sometimes
inaccessible ocean; and what the historian catches will depend,
partly on chance, but mainly on what part of the ocean he chooses
to fish in and what tackle he chooses to use – these two factors
being, of course, determined by the Kind of fish he wants to catch.
By and large, the historian will get the kind of facts he wants.
History means interpretation." - E.H. Carr

I was sitting in the packed auditorium as Gary Foley presented
'Life of Struggle' at the 2015 Marxism Conference in Melbourne. He
commanded the stage, held the audience in the palm of his hand and
I listened fiercely and took notes. He spoke passionately about the
history of Aboriginal resistance in Australia, of which he played a
central role and shared iconic images of his life including photos
with rock star Michael Hutchence (pictured below). Foley also spoke
about an album he'd been involved with titled, Building Bridges -
Australia Has A Black History.

Gary Foley & Michael Hutchence, Building Bridges 1989
Bicentenary January 26th 1988 Aboriginal Protests at Sydney
Harbour

It wasn't entirely clear then of course but as I listened to Foley
talk, a seed was planted and once I'd been selected to participate
in the CBAA National Features and Documentary Series, the 1989
Building Bridges album and the story surrounding its creation began
to absorb almost every waking moment of my life.

'Red Dirt in Bondi' is a radio feature set in Sydney around the
time of the Bicentenary, 26 January 1988. The key participants in
this feature are Aboriginal activist and academic Gary Foley, the
Building Bridges Cultural Construction Crew featuring Jim George,
Tony Duke and Denise Officer (Andrew McMillan passed away on 28
January 2012) and singer-songwriter, Kev Carmody.

For a rookie like myself there were significant challenges in
bringing this radio story to life including the historical nature
of the topic and the complex relationship between black and white
Australia since 1788. Not to mention attempting an interesting and
thought-provoking radio feature in under 27 minutes.

The story of Building Bridges, involving a small group of people
with the support of the Australian Music Industry, is as relevant
today as it was back in '88. It is vital to keep re-telling and
sharing this piece of history so that we may move towards true
reconciliation in this country and achieve justice for Australia's
First People.

I would like to thank Phil Ruck, David Miller and others from 3MDR
for their amazing support, the CBAA and CMTO for the wonderful
opportunity but most importantly to the 'Red Dirt in Bondi'
participants Jim, Gary, Tony, Denise and Kev for sharing the
incredible Building Bridges story.

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