Public Housing Residents of Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks

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Public housing residents of Millers Point, Dawes Point and The Rocks have been living under the shadow of eviction and a public housing sell-off for many years.

On the morning of March 19th 2014, approximately 400 residents received a notice of eviction, advising they had two years to vacate their premises and relocate. The NSW State Government claim that the cost of rent subsidies and maintenance of properties, had become too high. They vow that every dollar that is raised from the sale of the properties will be reinvested in social housing support.

Many residents and supporters of the Millers Point community see it as outright social cleansing and a State Government cash grab. Those in favour of the evictions see it as removing undeserving and low income people from their "waterfront" properties.

People on both sides point to the development of nearby Barangaroo as a primary reason for the evictions.

It is a complicated issue, surrounded by political agenda, property development, social welfare, harbour views, and a long working-class history of the area.

This ongoing photo essay, documents the people

Pru Goward announced

Pru Goward announced on the 19^th of March that all public housing in Millers Point, Dawes Point & Gloucester Street in the Rocks would be sold off and 400 tenants would be evicted over the next two years, including the descendants of the original Millers Point maritime workers. The Social Impact Assessment was also released the same day that the Millers Point residents were notified. The Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) promised that the Social Impact Assessment would be shown to tenants before any decisions were made.

The Land and Housing Corporation had received heritage office approval last year to construct a building at Millers Point to accommodate up to 140 long-term residents - avoiding the need to evict elderly residents from the suburb when their terraces were sold. Ms Goward instead favoured removing all public housing from Millers Point, which is set to become one of Sydney's richest addresses.

The O'Farrell cabinet approved construction plans for 153 public housing units, 95 affordable housing units and 247 private apartments on the site last December.

Fifteen public housing apartments in Cowper Street, Glebe, were demolished by the state Labor government in 2011. Labor evicted 130 tenants but promised to build housing on the site with the proceeds of money raised by the sale of 99-year leases to Millers Point terraces, but the land is still vacant and a development application was lodged and contested in court.

The State Heritage listing is for the whole of Millers Point as a totality and that listing includes its social meaning (the people) as well as its buildings. Millers Point & Dawes Point Village Precinct is of state significance as a rare, if not the only, example of a maritime harbour side precinct that contains evidence of over 200 years of human settlement and activity that spans all historical phases in Australia since 1788. While there are other historical maritime precincts in Australia that might show a comparable mix of historical and contemporary values, none are as old or so intimately associated with the spectrum of historical, social, aesthetic, technological and research values that have shaped Australian society since 1788.
 

Millers Point & Dawes Point Village Precinct is significant through associations with a community in NSW for social, cultural and spiritual reasons. A proportion of the existing population is descended from previous generations of Millers Point locals, and has fostered a strong and loyal sense of community and solidarity.

This physical evidence of the area's history is complemented by the wealth of oral history contained within the existing resident population, which is a rare resource that allows a greater opportunity to understand the historic role of Millers Point and its social frameworks.

Sydney's waterfront should not simply be for those who can afford multi-million dollar apartments. Low income workers, the disabled and pensioners are as entitled to inner city housing as any other citizen. The gentrification of an area comes at the cost of removing families from homes and individuals from areas which they were born into. Forced removal will destroy this community, the heritage and cause distress to the current residents.

''It's not just that they are descendants of the maritime workers, but that governments in the early 20th century seemed to understand that you had to have a place for workers to live in the city, not just the rich,'' Ms Shirley Fitzgerald said.

Our communities are invaluable no matter where they are located. We should fight to preserve them.

Not destroy them for yet another soulless, generic development. Millers Point & it’s history is irreplaceable.