Kempsey: Indigenous communities set to reclaim land ownership in historic deal

Five generations of one indigenous family are set to benefit from a historic deal that will see them, and other families, reclaim ownership of previously dispossessed land south west of Kempsey.

Old Burnt Bridge subdivision site

Generations of indigenous families living in a small rural community south west of Kempsey will be able to call Old Burnt Bridge home once again in a historic land deal with the NSW Government.

An application has been lodged by the NSW Australian Housing Office (AHO) with Kempsey Shire Council, seeking to subdivide 31 lots of the Old Burnt Bridge Aboriginal community and transfer the ownership from the hands of the State Government back to its original owners.

The AHO acquired land in Old Burnt Bridge back in 2001 from the Dunghutti Aboriginal Elders Tribal Council (DAETC), who went into liquidation back in the mid-1990s. The land was acquired by the government in a bid to block the liquidator from selling the land to a private developer.

Dorothy Ritchie-Dickson, right, and her daughter Pauline Ritchie-Dickson Walton at their Old Burnt Bridge home

Over the past 19 years, the AHO has acted as the trustee of the Old Burnt Bridge community on behalf of the indigenous population living their, which includes 79-year-old elder Dorothy Ritchie-Dickson, her daughter Pauline Ritchie-Dickson Walton and three other generations of the Ritchie family.

Representatives from all five generations of the family currently live in the community of Old Burnt Bridge, which is regarded by the AHO has having a chequered and complex history.

An AHO spokeswoman told the Mid-North Coast News that the application to subdivide 31 blocks of land and transfer it back to its original owners, was a ‘first of its kind’ for NSW.

“The AHO’s work with the community has led to a subdivision application for 31 blocks of land, and a larger block of ‘common land’. It is AHO’s intention that the individual parcels of the land are transferred (in freehold) for descendants of the original OBB Elders to own.”

It said it was a ‘unique opportunity,’ and believed ‘the proposal is a first of its kind, given it aims to grant private land ownership to individual Aboriginal families.’

“The impacts of colonisation are still felt by Aboriginal people today,” the spokeswoman said.

“The land at Old Burnt Bridge has a complex history and has included private ownership by Aboriginal persons, and repeated dispossession.

“The Old Burnt Bridge land was returned to Aboriginal ownership in 1984, when the Dunghutti Aboriginal Elders Tribal Council (DAETC) bought the land for $1 from the Aboriginal Development Corporation.

“In the 1990s the DAETC went into administration and liquidation. The AHO then became the Trustee in 2001 to avoid the land being sold by the liquidator, and the Aboriginal families becoming homeless.

“The AHO has been working closely with the Old Burnt Bridge community since, about how to best return the land. Given the trauma of the past, any solution must seek to avoid further conflict and foster self-determination.”

Old Burnt Bridge subdivision site

Ms Ritchie-Dickson said her father, Clem Ritchie, had title rights to a large proportion of the Old Burnt Bridge community before it was dispossessed by white colonisation.

She told the Mid-North Coast News that she was pleased her family would be benefiting from the transfer of land back to her and the five generations of Ritchies alive today.

Ms Ritchie-Dickson was living in Sydney, but returned to Old Burnt Bridge around the time of her father’s death to help her family fight for what she said was rightfully theirs.

“I came back to find out what was going on with the land as my father put a claim in for this land and was fighting back for it,” she said.

She said when the AHO assumed ownership back in 2001, they built the homes that she and her family are living in today, replacing the ‘shacks’ that her father helped built with his bare hands.

“The AHO knocked our shacks down and built homes,” she said.

“It was sold to the NSW AHO, but it should have been given back to my father – he was the rightful owner.”

The AHO’s work with the community has led to a subdivision application for 31 blocks of land, and a larger block of ‘common land’.

Dorothy Ritchie-Dickson, right, and her daughter Pauline Ritchie-Dickson Walton at their Old Burnt Bridge home

It is AHO’s intention that the individual parcels of the land are transferred (in freehold) for descendants of the original Old Burnt Bridge Elders to own, including the Ritchies.

The applicant lodging the DA on behalf of the AHO, All About Planning, said it was ‘pleased to work with the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office and the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office Board on the ground breaking Torrens title residential subdivision proposal.’

“This proposal seeks to hand over the subject subdivided lots, pursuant to the legally commenced historic Masterplan, to persons within the Aboriginal community who are identified as being closely affiliated to the Burnt Bridge area,” the DA application states.

“AAP understands that this initiative is the first of its kind in NSW.”

The Aboriginal Housing Act (NSW) was passed by the parliament of New South Wales on 26 June 1998 and the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office was established on 24 July 1998.

The passing of this legislation enabled the AHO to be formed as a result.

Ms Ritchie-Dickson said she just wants to see the best outcome for her and her family, which would start with the approval of the subdivision.

“I just want to see my family and my sister’s family do well and get what we are owed,” she said.

“The future of Clem Ritchies’ family looks bright, I think we’re going to be OK and we’ll get what we want.

“We’re just going to see what happens and wait for the subdivision to happen.

“We don’t want to fight anymore we just want to live in peace.”