Aboriginal ceremony "cleanses" Royal North Shore site

Thursday, 6 August 2009

Above: Elder Uncle Max performs the smoking ceremony on the site. Image used with permission of Uncle Max.

NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca, has joined members of the lower North Shore Aboriginal community and Royal North Shore Hospital staff for a traditional indigenous smoking ceremony on the site of the $970 million hospital redevelopment.

"The smoking ceremony at the site of the largest health capital works project in NSW history is a powerful symbol of healing which emphasises the resilience of the Aboriginal nation and its connection to this land," Mr Della Bosca said.

"It's also an important reminder to all people that this has been a significant place of healing for over 120 years and will continue to be important for generations to come.

"This project will not only help meet NSW's health needs into the future, it will create hundreds of jobs in the construction sector," the Minister said.

The redevelopment will consolidate 53 outdated buildings into two patient-centred facilities that can expand to meet future needs.

It will include:

· A new Main Hospital Building (Acute Care facility)

· A new Community Health Building

· 462 acute beds to complement the 124 beds within the Douglas Building

· 40 acute mental health beds

· Additional chemotherapy and renal dialysis chairs

· Enhanced diagnostic services and ambulatory care services

· 29 procedure and operating rooms (including 18 new state-of-the-art operating theatres)

"Consultations with clinicians and the community began in 2006 and as a result we now have a bigger and better project," Mr Della Bosca said.

"We will continue to refine the plans to make sure the new hospital meets the clinical needs of patients and work with clinicians to ensure we build an environment that allows them to deliver the very best of care to their patients.

"The traditional Aboriginal ceremony is being performed by Uncle Max Eulo on behalf of the Guringai nation and the Cammeraygal clan who inhabited the lower North Shore and Cammeray area," the Minister said.

Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service Director of Aboriginal Health, LaVerne Bellear, said the smoking ceremony was a spiritual milestone for the project.

"In urban areas, the landscape has been altered so much that it is easy to forget the traditional connection between Aboriginal communities and the land," Ms Bellear said.

"The ceremony is an important way of reconnecting Aboriginal people with the land, and educating the non-Aboriginal community about traditional beliefs," she said

"We hope today's ceremony will cleanse the past and open all of us up to new opportunities for healing and health in the future," Ms Bellear added.

The ceremony was accompanied by a traditional Aboriginal celebration of singing and dancing.

The Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, which is the official custodian of the Guringai land, is also being represented at today's official ceremony.

The new Community Health Building is expected to be completed by early 2011, and the new Main Hospital Building by late 2012.