Snake Man Stories
Conservation Conversation, News, Project News 20 September 2011
GML has recently collaborated with Tol&Trigger and Context on an Interpretation Plan for the La Perouse Headland and Bare Island at Kamay Botany Bay National Park—a popular daytrip for Sydneysiders since the arrival of the tram in the early 1900s.
Commissioned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Office of Environment and Heritage, the plan aims to revitalise visitor experience, telling the many significant stories associated with the headland—all within its natural and cultural landscape setting.
Many people will remember snake man John Cann who, until recently, delighted children with his Sunday snake shows in the little corrugated steel enclosure on the headland. Yet after 90 years of bustling activity, the Cann family’s snake pit now stands silent and empty.
Without interpretation, its stories will be lost.
As part of plan a number of interpretive themes have been developed to reflect the history and significance of the area. Each of the four themes—Guriwal, Connections, Resilience and Souvenir—encompasses a range of stories.
‘Souvenir’ is the French word for memory, reflecting the tales of the area we should remember, such as the ill-fated Laperouse expedition, as well as the history of cultural tourism and recreation at La Perouse—with Aboriginal people promoting their culture to holidaymakers through craft such as shellwork boxes and pokerwork boomerangs.
Yet although a long-loved tourist destination and an idyllic coastal refuge for city-dwellers, how many would have looked beyond face value? Would they have noticed the pre-contact rock engravings of marine creatures, or have been aware that, during the Depression, unemployed townsfolk forced out of the city built the shanty town of Happy Valley in the gully at La Perouse out of old tin cans?
Through the interpretation of this heritage, a pleasant coastal walk along the La Perouse Headland will soon serve to open avenues for sharing this cultural knowledge and building community like no other medium.
Update: The detailed interpretation plan was recently placed on public exhibition and many submissions were received from members of the public. In consultation with OEH, the project team are now working on the final plan—aiming to assist the Office of Environment and Heritage in seeking funding for the required interpretation works.
Related Stories:
>> “Lost (and Found) in Translation” – Why do we interpret heritage?
>> “Burn, Baby, Burn!” – Recent work at the Willoughby Incinerator.