palawa
Tasmania
Wybalenna is a sacred and painful place. Australia’s First Mission site, it was an open-air concentration camp. Hundreds of Tasmanian Aborigines died and are buried there.  After closure, Wybalenna’s history was suppressed. It moved through generations of agricultural use, with the chapel converted and burial grounds trampled for decades by grazing livestock. The current homestead, a Late Victorian cottage, stands atop the original ruins of the Commandant’s House. In the 1980s and 1990s, Aboriginal families staged a sit-in protest, leading to the return of Wybalenna in 1999. Despite its cultural significance, discomfort and inadequate amenity have limited community use. Recent truth-telling efforts by the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania have focussed on homestead remediation. Incorporating donated elements, the remediation prioritises cultural comfort. The architectural approach diverges from standard heritage practice, fostering a space that acknowledges and empathises, supports well-being, and centres Aboriginal perspectives.
"The quality of work undertaken for Truth Telling at Wybalenna would not have been achieved without the commitment and unwavering support of Taylor and Hinds (T&H) Architects. This significant effort is made on behalf of Tasmanian Aborigines, and the sacred memory of our Old People at Wybalenna.Â
T&H have helped deliver important amenity for our people at Wybalenna. They have worked carefully with the sacred reality of this place and have a deep understanding of the needs and aspirations of Tasmanian Aborigines that is second to none. T&H have worked with us, not for us, along this entire journey"