Liverpool’s Pride of Place takes centre stage at ZEST Awards 2021

Liverpool City Council has been celebrated at this year’s annual ZEST Awards, with Council’s now multi-award-winning Pride of Place project picking up a win in the Partnering for Impact category.

The Awards, an initiative of Western Sydney Community Forum, recognise outstanding work in the community sector which serves to promote a more positive image of greater Western Sydney by highlighting the region’s assets, diversity, and creative and innovative work.

Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Waller said Council was delighted to win this Award which recognises the ongoing collaboration between Council and the local First Nations community throughout the construction of the Carnes Hill Recreation and Community Precinct, which opened in August 2016.

“Pride of Place is the culmination of two years of consultation, engagement and discussion with our First Nations community as well as extensive archeological investigations and testing which resulted in the recovery of 155 Aboriginal objects from the site and the adjacent area known as Carnes Hill North.”

“The objects are on display in a permanent exhibition at Carnes Hill Library dedicated to telling the story of 4,500 years of Aboriginal culture and heritage within the region and helping visitors, students and the wider community understand its significance.”

“The exhibit stands as a testament to the relationship between Council and the local First Nations community and speaks to Council’s commitment to honouring local First Nations culture and traditions,” Mayor Waller said.

During the consultation period, Council worked with a group of stakeholders associated with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Impact Permit. This included representatives from Council’s Aboriginal Consultative Committee, Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council (GALC), Darug Land Observations and Darug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation who provided Aboriginal artwork and the Darug translations for the exhibition’s panels.

The Partnering for Impact Award includes a $5000 grant sponsored by Arup to help continue Council’s work across the community sector and within the community itself.

This year at the ZEST Awards, Pride of Place also received a Highly Commended Award in the category of Outstanding Project Working with Aboriginal Communities in Western Sydney – Margaret Oldfield Award.

This followed the success of the project at the Keep Australia Beautiful NSW Sustainable Cities Awards 2019 where it was awarded an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Award.

“I want to thank everyone involved in this wonderful project. The industry recognition we continue to receive around this project is a testament to the great work we’re doing in the community sector, and we hope to continue this in future.”