{"id":87261,"date":"2023-11-02T04:49:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T04:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/?p=87261"},"modified":"2023-11-02T04:49:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T04:49:42","slug":"australias-first-vietnamese-museum-bumped-by-council-planning-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebritytidings.com\/world-news\/australias-first-vietnamese-museum-bumped-by-council-planning-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s first Vietnamese Museum bumped by council planning dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Footscray is being denied a country-first Vietnamese museum despite it being the \u201ccradle of Vietnamese Australia\u201d over a roller door dispute.<\/p>\n
The much anticipated Vietnamese Museum Australia was originally touted for Footscray, in Melbourne\u2019s inner west, to honour the Vietnamese refugees who first settled in the area after the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n
However, the museum was forced to abandon plans for a four-storey development at a carpark located at the rear of 220 Barkly Street because an adjoining landowner at the proposed site would not agree to the relocation of a roller door used for its loading facilities.<\/p>\n
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Tammy Nguyen, Vietnamese Museum Australia head of operations, said the project became too difficult to continue with Maribyrnong Council.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jason South<\/cite><\/p>\n Tammy Nguyen, head of museum operations, said the museum decided to rescind its contract with council and withdraw an appeal to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, set for later this year, to refocus their efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are sad it\u2019s come to this after three years of working with the Maribyrnong Council,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cOur plan was to have the museum opened in 2025, in time for the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon and Vietnamese refugees arriving in Australia, but the issues with Maribyrnong Council have made that impossible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Vietnamese Museum Australia received a total of $6.5 million in funding from the Victorian state government. Federal government support has also totalled $9.7 million \u2013 $5 million from the former Liberal government and $4.7 million from Labor.<\/p>\n The total cost of the project is about $20 million with financial support from members of the Vietnamese community. The museum\u2019s plans include a culture and heritage centre telling the story of the Vietnamese diaspora\u2019s journey to Australia and their contributions to Australian society.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a shame that a project of national significance with bipartisan support from both state and federal governments has been prevented by a roller door,\u201d Nguyen said.<\/p>\n In May 2022, Maribyrnong Council issued a notice of decision to grant a planning permit to the museum after its initial application and community consultations in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the council refused an amendment lodged by the museum to remove the requirement for the museum and its neighbour, Newtone Betta Footscray, to reach agreement regarding the relocation of loading facilities.<\/p>\n A concept design for the Vietnamese Museum Australia, originally slated for Footscray.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Vietnamese Museum Australia<\/cite><\/p>\n The Vietnamese Musuem Australia offered pay for the relocation of the hardware store\u2019s roller door, but the council refused.<\/p>\n Maribyrnong Council, which takes in the suburbs of Footscray, Maidstone, Maribyrnong, and Braybrook, has been home to a large cohort of Vietnamese refugees since the 1980s.<\/p>\n According to the 2021 census, 11.4 percent of Footscray\u2019s population is Vietnamese.<\/p>\n Tuanh Nguyen, the museum\u2019s board director and company secretary, said the proposed site on Barkly Street was close to the Midway Hostel, in Maidstone, which housed Vietnamese refugees in the 1980s, who then went on to live in suburbs like Richmond and Springvale.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone who came through during that time, came through Footscray,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cFootscray is the cradle of Vietnamese-Australian settlement in Victoria. There was something poetic about having a museum that documents and preserves that story being in Footscray,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n State member for Footscray Katie Hall also said she was disappointed at the missed opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cFootscray needs that investment, and it\u2019s where many [of the] Vietnamese community migrated to Australia,\u201d Hall said. \u201cI\u2019m obviously disappointed the project won\u2019t be in Footscray. It will be a beautiful building. I had hoped council could have worked with them to find another car park site in central Footscray,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Labor\u2019s State Member for Footscray, Katie Hall.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Paul Jeffers<\/cite><\/p>\n Maribyrnong Council did not respond to The Age<\/em>\u2019s questions about whether there was an alternative location in Footscray that could accommodate the museum.<\/p>\n However, Maribyrnong Council chief executive Celia Haddock said the council was disappointed the museum would no longer be at the Barkly Street site.<\/p>\n \u201cCouncil supports the concept of a Vietnamese museum, which it acknowledges is important to the significant Vietnamese population in our municipality. We are disappointed the Vietnamese Museum Australia will not be proceeding on the Barkly Street site in Footscray,\u201d<\/p>\n The Vietnamese Museum Australia is now looking to other local government areas with a significant historical connection to Vietnamese refugees and migrants to build the museum.<\/p>\n The Age<\/em> understands Sunshine is being considered as an alternative location.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are speaking with other LGAs, and we are really positive this project will find a new location,\u201d head of museum operations, Nguyen said. \u201cWe have the money and the project is ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n The owners of Newtone Betta Footscray have been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n Get the day\u2019s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter here.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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