Stockland and Yuggera Ugarapul People join forces on new cultural precinct

Stockland is proud to announce that a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MOU) has been signed with the Yuggera Ugarapul People Registered Native Title Claimant to begin planning a cultural precinct to be built on the Deebing Creek Heritage Site (also known as the Mission Site), nine kilometres south of the Ipswich CBD.

Stockland and two other neighbouring landowners (AVJennings and Moremac) have committed to supporting the design and future delivery of a new cultural precinct. The MOU outlines the collaboration between all parties, including investigating the transition of the Deebing Creek Heritage Site back to the Yuggera Ugarapul People.

The MOU was signed on Friday 24 March 2023.

The Yuggera Ugarapul People are the Traditional Owners for the locality surrounding the Deebing Creek area, which takes in the former Deebing Creek Mission and a former cemetery site.

Spokesperson for the Yuggera Ugarapul People Registered Native Title Claimant, Samantha Carr, a Yuggera woman, said it was important to build this cultural precinct for their peoples’ stories to live on.

“Through truth telling we can educate the broader community on the mission history and the significance of the whole area to our people,” Ms Carr said.

The Yuggera Ugarapul People will play a leading role in the design of Deebing Creek Heritage Site cultural precinct, which may also include a cultural centre. The design elements for the cultural centre include the materials used for the centre, establishment of an artefact display and other potential elements such as rooms for community purposes. There is also a commitment from Stockland to support traineeships and future jobs throughout this journey.

"The centre will be a safe ‘keeping place’ for a range of artefacts we have, and any we may find in the future.

“It is important that future generations of First Nations people and wider community understands our history and what our people have overcome. The former Deebing Creek Mission is an area of much heartache. We have a lot to be proud of and want to see this land around Deebing Heights respected and embraced. This cultural centre can help teach a new generation about First Nations. We want our people to be excited about what the cultural centre can do.

“We have developed a strong, respectful working relationship over a number of years with Stockland and this landmark agreement means we can look forward to building on that trust in the delivery of the Deebing Creek Heritage Site and the new centre,” Ms Carr said.

Stockland is also working cooperatively with the Yuggera Ugarapul People on 246-hectares of vacant grazing land at the end of Grampian Drive, Deebing Heights. This Stockland landholding at Deebing Heights has Federal Government environmental endorsement and is approved by the Queensland Government and Ipswich City Council for a future new suburb and community, Botanica.

Stockland General Manager for Queensland Development, David Laner said he is proud of the work with the Yuggera Ugarapul People who have led, coordinated and participated in important site investigations across 'Botanica', the Stockland landholding adjacent to the Deebing Creek Heritage Site.

"As the Traditional Owners, the Yuggera Ugarapul People are deeply connected to this land. From the beginning, we made it a priority that any future development must be respectful of their history, and any investigations and surveys be thorough and independent,” Mr Laner said.

Stockland commissioned independent cultural heritage assessments of its landholding at Deebing Heights in 2021 and 2022. This engagement is recognised in the legally binding Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) and Relationship Agreement signed with the Yuggera Ugarapul People Registered Native Title Claimant and Stockland. This ensures accountability of all parties and compliance with the duty of care to preserve history of place and Aboriginal cultural heritage across the site.

“We are proud to be working alongside the Yuggera Ugarapul People on the cultural centre and future Botanica community, not only in the planning phase, but across the life of the development.

“We have committed to supporting the broader Aboriginal community to access jobs and traineeships as part of Stockland's long-term plans for Botanica. There will be opportunities to access economic development, further education and build meaningful careers by working on this project. Stockland has also committed to encouraging suppliers and third parties to use Indigenous businesses, goods, and services where possible throughout the construction period,” said Mr Laner.

In addition to these commitments, Stockland aims to engage the Yuggera Ugarapul People to design one of Botanica’s key public spaces, the District Park, which will include native flora and bush trails. This will contribute to the story of Deebing Creek for generations to come.

The future ‘Botanica’ masterplanned community will include parks, sporting fields and reserves. Stockland will also be conserving land internal and external to the site as biodiversity offsets. In terms of amenity, Botanica will provide a school, community facilities, a retail site and more.