Bilya Kard Boodja Lookout
2017 National Landscape Architecture Award - Cultural Heritage
2017 Western Australia Landscape Architecture Award - Cultural Heritage
Ecoscape Australia Pty Ltd
Bilya Kard Boodja Lookout is a sheltered parkland on an important, culturally sensitive site fringing Derbai Yerrigan, the Swan River. The site had been acquired by John Wall Hardy in 1831 for farming but at the turn of the century was acquired by the State Government.
For many years it was a 'forgotten site'... vacant, disused, weed infested, eroded and a place of anti-social behaviour. Working with the Traditional Owners of the land and guided by the principle of 'designing with respect', Ecoscape allowed socio-cultural values to drive the design process. This work has resulted in an outstanding landscape design which articulates the site's rich cultural heritage and reinforces the complex natural environmental elements. The park provides a variety of passive and active recreational spaces with interpretive information, sitting places and structures which tell both Aboriginal and European stories.
This project is an exemplar of the best practice currently being articulated by AILA in the development the Reconciliation Action Plan. Work to date on the draft RAP notes that all projects should reference the natural land history and engage with Traditional Owners as part of their methodology, to enable the systems and the stories of place to be celebrated, and for them to underpin the land management strategy or project.
Bilya Kard Boodja Lookout is not only an important acknowledgement of the Traditional Owners of the land and our Aboriginal history, it also provides a beautiful, much needed parkland that will be loved by future communities for many years to come.
