I acknowledge that we are on Dharug land; on the land of the people of the Gomerrigal Clan.

I also acknowledge that our region includes the lands of the Darkinjung, Gundungurra and Tharawal Nations.

Visitors to our Region & fellow Westies.

Things are not always as they seem.

The main title of my paper "Bound for Glory" might initially seem the stuff of a Rambo-esque movie or an Olympic motivational campaign. Indeed, it was the title of a Rose Tattoo record that I was fond of in my youth (yes, they still had records in those days). Yet links to such phenomenon as these are not intended.

Bound for Glory is designed to highlight the inextricable links between the Region and the University.

In the Greater West, things are not always as they seem. The gutter press of the East have us all portrayed as dole-bludging, commission-dwelling, heroine-taking scum. They blame the victims, and make victims out of the blameless. We have no future but that granted us by those from outside.

Yet this land in which we dwell is one of important history and undeniable culture, populated by the most effervescent people in the land. It is called the Greater West because it is great. If others fail to understand this, then the loss is very much theirs.

We are called today to ponder the year 2020, to consider the future both of the university, the subjects

which are taught within it; and the nature of university education in future decades. I say that the University’s future is one with the Region’s Future. Bound together, they will strive for Glory.

My biases in presenting this paper are obvious to those who know me: I love where I come from, I live for my people. I have little time for those who have little time for me… there is far too much work to do here to be overly concerned with the paranoia of the world. I am a Westie, and very proud of it.

I will use indigenous words and phrases where they are available, and where I can make their meaning reasonably obvious. In doing so, I am not trying to subvert the culture and spirit of those who came before us to this land, nor their modern counterparts. My apologies in advance for any mispronunciations. By participating in the original naming of this place, I hope to pay homage to the spirits, to help identify the uniqueness of this land, and to highlight what was done to the eora, the people, and what is being perpetuated today.

I was privileged enough to participate in a 1994 conference organised by the Creative Cultures group. Formerly based at the Werrington North Campus of the University of Western Sydney, Creative Cultures has since fallen victim to government funding cuts.

The conference, held over 3 days at the Parramatta Riverside Theatres, featured an address by Melbourne Futurist, and the Director of Preferred Futures, Dr Peter Ellyard. Dr Ellyard’s address "The Hype and the Hypertension – the potential impact of the Olympics on the popular culture in Australia", looked back on the Greater West of 1994 from the Year 2011, and the changes that might have taken place in between:

From the Year 2011 I would now like to reflect on the heroic journey made over

the past 16 years by what used to be called Western Sydney, but which by 1995

renamed itself Dharrug after the indigenous people of the region, and as part of

the process of reconciliation. At the time the name Western Sydney showed that

it had a clear problem of lack of identity, and has as its main identity that of a

relatively poor appendage of a metropolis, which allowed most of the decisions

about its future to be made outside it…

Dharrug used this opportunity to mould a new future for itself, a future which it

chose for itself. Choosing its own future had been a radical step. It had been

Whilst I would want to caution against the use of the Dharug name without the express permission of the people themselves, and again point out that the Greater West extends beyond the boundaries of the Dharug Nation, I believe that the vision which Ellyard promotes is quite clear.

According to Kohen (1993) the Eora and the Dharug people are the same linguistic group, identified by subtle cultural differences. Kohen speaks of the people of this Region as the Woodland Dharug, whilst the Eora are the Coastal Dharug (ibid.,). The word Dharug defines the language spoken, whilst the word Eora is a Dharug word for "people".

Many Koori words that have gained acceptance in modern Australian language are Dharug words:

boomerang, koala, gunya, bindi, coolamon, jumbuk, myall, woomera (Kohen, Gale) are some examples of such Dharug words, although they are sometimes attributed to other languages. Similarly, place names such as Parramatta, Cabramatta, Marayong, Mulgoa and Kurrajong are taken from the Dharug language.

According to Brook & Kohen (1991), there were 15 Woodland Dharug Clans before the arrival of the British. These were the Bediagal, Bidjigal, Boolbainora, Burreberongal, Burramattagal, Cabrogal, Cannemegal, Cattai, Gomerrigal, Kurrajong, Mulgoa, Murringong, Tugagal, Wandeandegal, and Warrawarry.

As mentioned earlier, people from the Darkinjung, Gundungurra and Tharawal Nations also inhabited this Region.

The first person of note from this Region (albeit that his world was not defined in such European terms) was one Pemulwuy. For those not familiar with him, he was a Dharug man of the Bidjigal Clan. Pemulwuy was a Kuraji, a "clever" man. Pemulwuy led the Dharug in a 12-year military campaign against the British from 1790 to 1802. His successes included the invasion of Parramatta, and the destruction of Toongabbie. Let me read an extract from Eric Willmot’s book about Pemulwuy, the Rainbow Warrior:

Toongabbie was the first British town to fall…

Toongabbie lay some four to five miles to the west of Parramatta, and by late

1796 it had become an independent centre for the surrounding farms.

Parramatta was fast turning into a hellhole of vice and drunkenness, and

For his trouble, Pemulwuy was beheaded, and his head sent to England, never to be returned.

The Dharug-inspired Battles of Toongabbie (1797), and Parramatta (1797), and the Irish-inspired battle of Vinegar Hill (1804) were effectively expunged from the history books by the British. These first of many military actions to follow throughout Australia occurred in the Greater West. They put paid to the myth that Australia was "settled peacefully". The lack of regard for such events typifies in some way that our history has been written for us, with less attention to accuracy than expediency.

To try to understand this region is to first try to understand its original inhabitants.

Things are not always as they seem.

The Facts

If we are to call the Greater West a Region, then some attempt needs to be made to define the Region. Such attempts appear to have been few and far between.

The unit in which I work, the Development and Information Management Planning Service, uses statistics and geography in its definition of the Region:

The Region referred to as Greater Western Sydney… is greater than… Sydney.

(DIMPS, UWS, 1995)

The Greater West is variously defined as consisting of either 12 or 14 local government areas. The 14 are Auburn, Bankstown, Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Camden, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Wollondilly. Auburn and Bankstown are sometimes excluded from the Regional Definition, but UWS and many other organisations include them.

In the main, the Region covers the Hawkesbury/Nepean River System, but significant stretches of the Parramatta and Georges River Systems are also included. It experiences wider extremes of temperature than does Sydney, and has different climatic patterns than Sydney (Bureau of Meteorology - http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/ca_nsw_names.shtml), and is physically separated from the coastline and beaches.

Economically, The Greater West is a Powerhouse. It has 1.6 million citizens, making it the third largest marketplace in Australia after Sydney and Melbourne (ABS 1996 Census), it has a gross domestic product of $35 billion (Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board), and when compared to national figures, its per capita production is second in the world only to Japan, and higher than Australia’s (Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board). Blacktown City, alone, had a higher rate of capital investment than the City of Melbourne in the last financial year (Blacktown City Council). Over 90% of Sydney’s fresh produce is grown in the Greater West (Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board, 1992). There are no economic growth problems per se. What is needed is employment and distribution of wealth.

Many define the Region as the Western Suburbs, implying that the various centres of the Region only exist as the consequence of urban sprawl. Indeed, the media in Sydney seem to add that the Region is somehow uniquely subservient to Sydney. However, the major centres of the Greater West were established between 1788 (Parramatta) and 1860 (Blacktown), long before the post-World War urban sprawl began to manifest itself. What’s more, Macquarie determined that Parramatta was to be the seat of Government. A wise man was Macquarie ! Let’s take back our history and begin a campaign to return to Parramatta its rightful role. Then, perhaps, our State legislators and planners might finally awaken to where their responsibility really lies.

The Western Suburbs are, more correctly, those areas between The Greater West and the Sydney CBD, with Auburn and Bankstown forming a buffer between the two. The Western Suburbs came into being as a direct result of urban sprawl, unlike the centres of the Greater West that existed beforehand. Traditionally, sporting teams from the Ashfield and, later, Lidcombe areas have been called Western Suburbs.

The Western Suburbs, as with the bulk of Sydney, are in a consolidation mode. All available land has been built upon, with the rest consisting of designated parkland. The Greater West, on the other hand, is in a growth mode. Huge tracts of agricultural and crown land remain, CBD, urban and industrial development continues to spread, and the fate of the landscape, like the future of the Region, has yet to be determined.

The Greater West is unique. It has a culture to be found nowhere else. Its natural environment is outstanding. The Wollomi Pines, for example, provide a natural resource of world significance, and are found in the Greater West.

The uniqueness of the Region is largely built on a series of tensions:

• It is Multi Urban, not Suburban

• It has a huge population but is predominantly Rural.

• It exhibits the early phases of what I have defined as "Competitive Cooperation".

• It is the third largest marketplace in Australia but is not well known at a national or international level (except, perhaps, for all the wrong reasons).

• It is a Gateway… where the city meets the country, and it should remain so rather than let Sydney overrun it.

Things are not always as they seem.

Since 1788, the Greater West has suffered a series of impositions that have, in part, helped establish its image, if not always its reality. The first and most obvious of these impositions was that of British Society over its Indigenous counterparts. Little concern was expressed by the British over their destruction of Aboriginal people and society, and this lack of concern by outsiders, particularly but not exclusively the Easterners, has continued until the present day.

Naming has been a process of imposition. Places, flora, fauna and people have been renamed by a European Society that placed little value in the people and things being named. Wianamatta, the Mother Creek, source of life for the Gomerrigal for thousands of years, became South Creek, no more than a point on the compass. Deerubbin became the Hawkesbury, Gedumba Katoomba, Waun became the Hills District, and Mooroo Murak Penrith. Lost names meant lost meaning.

In the place of meaning came lies, distortions and half-truths. Let me ask a series of question:

Who discovered Australia ?

Who first explored the Greater West ?

Who first crossed the Blue Mountains ?

If your answers include James Cook, Watkin Tench, and Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson, then you are the victim of such lies. Indeed, Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson found their way over the mountains by using a well-worn Gundugurra trading route. To the best of our knowledge, Aboriginal people were the first explorers/discoverers in each case… by many thousands of years.

Cook did not discover Australia. Besides the Indigenes, Cook was beaten to these shores by the Macassans, William Janz (1606), the first European, and William Dampier (1699), the first Englishmen, to name but a few. What should Cook be remembered for, then ? For claiming something he had no right to claim, and for the lie of Terra Nullius, that is Cook’s claim to fame.

Yet there are still school teachers, some in our Region, who insist on perpetuating the lie by telling their students that Captain Cook (who was not even a captain at the time) "discovered" Australia.

Those who "settled" the Dharug land were, in the main, wealthy and/or powerful before they began. The land changed from a place of responsibility to one of carelessness, from a place of equality to a place of bigotry. The squatters abandoned the land for the western plains as soon as Cox’s Road was completed in 1815. The land became a commodity that was only cherished until something better came along.

I in no way mean to belittle what happened to the Indigenous Nations of this Land. Their plight was an abomination. I am equally certain, however, that the perpetrators cared little.

In more modern times, outsiders created Lalor Park, Green Valley and Mount Druitt: Public Housing Estates the size of which had never been seen before in Australia. Public Housing Tenants were uprooted from places familiar and dumped into places they didn’t understand. They were given no resources or support and then vilified by the Easterners and their press for not appreciating what they had.

This is History. What about now ?

The bigotry still exists. You might recall the recent "raid" by SCEGGS Redlands students on The Greater West as part of a so-called high school prank. Let me read from the North Shore Times:

Snobs, spoilt, rich brats and idiots is how Blacktown MP and Minister for

the Environment Pam Allen described SCEGGS Redlands Year 12 students

who participated in Monday night’s illegal "treasure hunt".

Ms Allen launched her scathing attack on learning the student’ treasure hunt

hit list included a requirement for students to prove that they had been to

Blacktown Station and lived.

(North Shore Times 17.11.97)

Where did this come from? Surely the Redlands students were reflecting the type of thinking that is prevalent in their communities and even in their own families. Despite the "illegal activity", all 91 students were let off with a caution by the Police. Did they offer a public apology to the people of Blacktown ? Not on your life !

Now, compare all this to the treatment handed out by the Sydney Media to the class of 96 at Mount Druitt High… students, it must be recalled, whose only crime was to do their best.

The current names of our Region and of our University were imposed by others. Whatever happened to Chifley university ? Whatever happened to democratic processes such as asking the people of this Region what they wanted to call their University?

Now we have a series of incomprehensible "legacy" projects: the North-West Sector, ADI, the Castlereagh Toxic Waste Dump and Badgery’s Creek Airport. This is our promise for the future, these are the impositions of our times. Nothing much has changed.

Yet the Outsiders continue their vilification. Economic Growth will fix everything. An Airport is just what you need ! But the realities strike home.

In March 1995 my wife completed a difficult pregnancy and gave birth to the youngest of our 3 children, Jordan Francis. Immediately problems were evident. He had difficulty breathing, keeping his food down, and he was clearly unwell. ‘All will be well’ we were told.

In time we discovered, through the enormous efforts of my wife Debbie, that Jordan suffered from something akin to Sotos Syndrome (http://www.well.com/user/sssa/), an affliction so rare that few if any of you would ever have heard of it. It is real enough to us. Although his outlook gradually improves, Jordan’s life has been in danger for the past two and a half years.

You see, we were one of the early ones to participate in the HomeFund Scheme. We were to live the "Australian Dream" in a Bligh Park. Whilst the HomeFund Scammers ran off with our money, we were oblivious to the real issues.

Although we were not aware of it at the time, our $125,000 had brought us a block of land downstream from the Castlereagh Toxic Waste Dump. Not far from the front door emerged the Rickaby’s Gravel Aquifer which passes under the Dump (AGC Woodward-Clyde Pty Ltd, Sydney, 1994. ).

Late last year a Total Environment Centre Report finally led to adverse findings against the Toxic Waste Dump. This after years of denials by successive State Governments, and inadequate reporting by the EPA. The stillborn dogs and multi-headed deer had been no accident (Penrith Press – various 1995/6).

For Jordan, and people throughout the nine towns most directly affected by Castlereagh, the future is clear. They will carry the scars of neglect with them: the imposition on them. I am equally certain, however, that the perpetrators care little. The bastards !

When the Dump closes in December, if it closes in December, the work is not over. We will then have to clean up the mess left by others. When the capital works start at Badgery’s Creek, if the capital works start at Badgery’s Creek, I’ve got an appointment with the bulldozers. I hope you’ll join me.

Most recently, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) separated the Labour Forces of Blacktown and Baulkham Hills, even though the two LGAs are joined to form a Statistical Subdivision for every other statistical purpose. The excuse given was that the Labour Forces of the two LGAs are quite different, and this is true. If so, why wasn’t Baulkham Hills then coupled with its Greater West neighbour, the Hawkesbury, which has a very similar labour Force, rather than the Upper North Shore LGAs of Hornsby and Kuring-gai. The reasons are clearly not statistical… I smell a rat. Even more frustrating, the University of Western Sydney, a major client of the ABS and boasting a good deal of expertise in disciplines appropriate to this exercise, was not even consulted about the change!

Dear fellow ghetto dwellers. Did you even realise that we live in the "New Ghettos of Sydney" ? This is how the Sydney Morning Herald portrayed our Region on the 13^th of October, 1997. Just 6 weeks ago. In a pathetically inadequate portrayal, another attempt at imposition was launched. The article describes a Great Divide that separates the rich from the poor… and guess what side of the divide we live on ? Let me Quote:

Running along the Great Divide are a series of middle-income suburbs which

are all that separate the elite from the hoi polloi … hanging over the heads of

analysts… and some politicians, is the spectre of the Los Angeles riots and the

terrible effects of ghettoism in many American and British cities.

(Sydney Morning Herald 13.10.97 p 15 ‘Features’)

I utterly reject the inaccuracy of this garbage. We do not live in ghettos, we are not hoi paloi, and we are not a part of Sydney. Whoever wrote this nonsense can take their Los Angeles riots and stick them firmly up their Great Divides.

(Interestingly, even the local press seem incapable of using a capital W when spelling the current name of the Region.)

I can remember when I was 18 years of age being similarly upset by a similarly grotesque piece of journalistic vaudeville in the Herald. And the Herald isn’t Robinson Crusoe when it comes to westie bashing. Some things haven’t changed a bit.

If we apply facts to the kind of argument used in the Herald article, we will indeed discover that things are not always as they seem. For example, the document "NSW Recorded Crime Statistics, 1989/90", as applied by WSTIR, demonstrates that

The overall rate of Recorded offences for Police Districts covering Western

Sydney is substantially lower than the overall rate for NSW, as a whole,

with 7176 recorded offences per 100,000 persons in the West versus 7,585 per

100,000 persons for the State.

For most individual offences, Western Sydney also has a lower rate than the

State average…

The rates of recorded offences for Western Sydney were well below the State

Average for the offence categories of Serious Assault; Other Assault; Stealing;

Break and Enter non-Dwelling; Malicious Damage to Property; Drug Offences;

Fraud; and Other Recorded Offences.

(WSTIR 1991)

Di Powell, in her work OutWest, provides endless examples of the glaring inaccuracies of the Sydney Press. She states that…

The mass media have played a significant role in the emergence of western

Sydney as the ‘other side’ of a social boundary, one which contains

several groups of societies ‘others’. The west is seen as the repository

for all of those social groups and cultures which are outside the prevailing

cultural ideal…

(Powell 1993)

We are portrayed as living beyond the frontier, again harkening back to the Herald article, in the same way as did the Koori people who faced the British encroachment. All portrayals are written from the perceived safety of the Eastern side of the Frontier, with more regard for comfort than truth.

The Greater West has been the subject of many great works of art and culture. Indeed, it has spawned many great leaders of art and culture. Famous outsiders who have created serious compositions about our region have included Conrad Martens, Arthur Streeton , Thomas Kenneally, David Ireland, Gabrielle Lord and Peter Carey (although some of the prosaic portayals tend to be overly negative). Explorer Douglas Mawson spent his formative years at Plumpton Primary School. Prime Ministers Ben Chifley, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating all represented various parts of our Region.

On the other hand, has anyone ever thought seriously about Ugg Boots, Jeans and Flannelette shirts? These items were not worn to denote criminal intent. These items are inexpensive, hard wearing, and designed to keep people warm in a climate whose winter minimums are much colder than that of Sydney. Such clothing is simply utilitarian, but many have failed to understand this most evident of facts. As British Socialist writer Raymond Williams wrote: "culture is ordinary" (Williams 1958).

Things are not always as they seem.

In an interesting inditement of the Easterner’s view of the Greater West, Michael Symond’s paper "Imagined Colonies: on the social construction of Sydney’s western suburbs" discusses the need to view the world from the ‘west’ rather than from the ‘centre’ (the centre being central Sydney) (Symonds 1993). I would go further by saying that where we are is the centre. Sydney is the centre of a different Region.

Again, from the 2011 perspective, Peter Ellyard also spoke about this institution:

The secret of the region’s success was to develop a strong regional capability in

the three most creative areas of human capability… At the base of this culture

was the recognition that the brains of its creative people was a critical factor.

We sought world class success in the three greatest areas of human endeavour;

The arts, the sciences and the technologies. Now many great writers, artists,

actors and singers live here, and the region is famous for its research and

and development institutions and for enterprises which use the region’s art,

science and technology for the generation of wealth and the creation of jobs.

Dharrug is now a major contributor of the intelligent and clever country.

At the core of this success was the region’s education system. Dharrug

University changes its name from the University of Western Sydney

In 1995. It is one of the nation’s best and is world famous for many of

Its programs. It now attracts as many people from outside the region as

It does from Dharrug itself.

(Ellyard 1994)

Mindful of Ellyard’s vision for our institution, and pre-empting some of the work of the newly formed Western Sydney Research institute (WSRI), I have been working on a number of Industrial Incubator projects under the guidance of the Pro Vice Chancellor Research, Pr Trevor Cairney. Should they come to fruition, these incubators, of which 4 would be located in the South Creek Valley and three in Parramatta, would provide technologically advanced answers to the economic needs of the Region, without compromising environmental and social outcomes. This, I believe, is where the Region is heading, and these are the kinds of activities to which Ellyard alludes.

For me The Greater West, the name, the concept, is but the midpoint on the path to identity. Whilst we have (finally) begun the journey to identity, there is a long way to go.

At the recent UWS Higher Education Summit, David Phillips David, Managing Director of Phillips Curran Pty. Ltd. Stated that, in response to the West Review, UWS should:

* aggressively pursue regional loyalty

* become obsessive about client service

* strengthen and extend links to the TAFE sector

* diversify research and consultancy

* diversify income

* streamline operations and develop responsive systems

(email from Jenny Wells General Staff Representative, UWS Board of Trustees 20.11.97)

I am so pleased that David gave such a high priority to aggressively pursuing regional loyalty. I agree whole-heartedly. In order to pursue the Region, however, we must understand what it is, and we must understand the people who live and function within it.

There are already many parallels between the Region and the University. The Region is Multi Urban and the university is Multi Campus, the Agricultural pursuits of the University reflect the predominantly rural nature of the Region, and the University, like the Region, needs to pursue a policy of Competitive Cooperation. It is the case for the University, as it is for the Region that things are not always as they seem.

The University needs to promote organic history, community, environment, culture and technology. Agricultural and Recreational land should be locked up now so as not to be swamped by the Urban Sprawl. New indices such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) should be utilised to provide a more accurate account of our economic development. Such indices would help debunk the myth that proposals such as Badgery’s Creek, ADI and the North-West sector are "good" for the Region.

Works such as Home/World (Grace etal, 1997), which came out of our University this year, provide a wonderful example of how the University, and Academics in particular, can positively interact with the Region and its people.

I was amazed recently by a proposal to take sound and recording equipment from Nepean and relocate them to a private studio in Sydney’s inner suburbs. Haven’t the Easterner’s taken enough already. Let’s leave our resources where they belong… in the Greater West. If organisations from outside the Region want to participate in joint ventures, wonderful. Let them come to use. Let us build great centres of culture in the Greater West. Let us play second fiddle to none!

I encourage, then, a continued emphasis on the Region in University Planning, Culture, Content, and Educational Delivery. I highlight the Regional work of the Eco-Engineers, Social Ecologists, Fine and Performing Artists and others, and the fact that they actively bring regional content to the learning process. It should be the same in all Academic Units.

One role that the University could aspire to is the reorganisation of Government and Private organisational structures to reflect a respect for, and emphasis on, the growing importance of our Region.

This place, this university and Region, is Yooroang Garang; a 'Strong Place'(Dharug). Many of the clues to the future of the University are to be found in the Identity of the Region. Many of these clues have yet to be unearthed….

The Region is a part of us and we share responsibility for it with its traditional people.

Things are not always as they seem.

Nepean’s recently appointed President, Professor Janice Reid, has stated that…

"I believe UWS is the model of the university of the future: bold,

flexible, innovative and outward looking, but firmly anchored in its own

community."

Professor Reid said UWS cared about its students and wanted them to succeed

beyond their own expectations.

"UWS is above all a university without walls, which celebrates diversity

and provides many broad paths to learning for anyone who aspires to a

higher education." (Christine Brierley, email, 20.11.97 )

I envision the day when many of our students return to us as academic staff, and that, as a consequence, the balance of Academic Staff living within the Region and without, and coming from the Region and without, is balanced. In this way the Regional Experience of the Organics can combine with the National and International experience of others to create what the Vision 2020/Looking Beyond the Curve of Our Horizon document describes as enriching "the personal lives of… students with cultural perspectives that are truly international." (UWS 1997)

To be truly international, one must first understand self and place. Organics from the Greater West will be the true Internationalists of the Future.

To quote Francis Bacon….

Nam et ipsa scientia postestas est (for knowledge itself is power).

Give our students, and the people of our Region in general, the knowledge, and they have proven time and time again that they are able to exercise the power. Things are not always as they seem.

Peter Ellyard has given me permission to distribute his Hype and Hypertension speech within the University. Please let me know if you would like a copy.

"Penrith Press" – various 1995/6