State Heritage Award winners celebrated during NAIDOC Week

State Heritage Award winners celebrated during NAIDOC Week
Wednesday 11 November 2020

One of the most significant winners of the 2020 WA Heritage Awards honoured during NAIDOC week.

Heritage Minister David Templeman and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt used the backdrop of NAIDOC Week to honour one of the most significant winners of the 2020 WA Heritage Awards.

The Lock Hospital Working Group and two of its members - Bob Dorey and Kathleen Musulin - were today presented with five awards they won in the prestigious awards program earlier this year.

In traditional dress and ceremony, Bob Dorey honoured the many Aboriginal men, women and children of the Bernier and Dorre Islands' Lock Hospitals.

The Lock Hospitals saw the incarceration of hundreds of Aboriginal people forcibly removed from country and transported to the islands for treatment of venereal disease. Over 10 years, it is estimated that more than 200 Aboriginal prisoner patients died on the islands.

The community project was established to protect and share traumatic stories of the lock hospitals and acknowledge the impact of this traumatic chapter on local Aboriginal culture and generational wellbeing.

A memorial statue on the Carnarvon coast, Don't Look at the Islands, and an interpretive Path of Pain were produced as part of the project to allow for truth-telling and healing for the communities involved.

Winning the lauded Professor David Dolan Judges' Award, the Lock Hospital Working Group was also recognised for its contribution to heritage conservation as a community-based organisation and for excellence in heritage interpretation.

Bob Dorey and Kathleen Musulin were acknowledged for their leadership and commitment to the project as joint winners of the Voluntary Individual Contribution category.

Winners of the 2020 WA Heritage Awards were announced in June. Framed certificates have been sent to recipients who will also be invited to be part of next year's official awards celebrations. View details of award winners.

Page last reviewed 11 November 2020
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