The Block: Stories from a Meeting Place

When the urban project The Block was built in the 1970s, it was a positive exception to the norm. Aborigines were normally housed on the outskirts of the city, but now they were getting a home in the very heart of Sydney. Forty years on, the last occupants are now preparing to leave. The area is badly rundown and about to make way for a new development. In its latest and most impressive web documentary to date, SBS Australia charts the district's turbulent history in words, short films, illustrations and historic news footage. The project's three-dimensional web environment allows the visitor to wander about in The Block and meet former residents talking about what the area meant to them. Take Tony Mundine: he set up a boxing gym to keep kids off the streets, and his son continued his life's work. He supports setting up a new social housing plan for the Aborigines, but he wants to prevent the excessive drug use this time.  Life in The Block was no picnic. In addition to the drugs, cultural tensions and political clashes brought their own problems. But all of the interviewees seem to agree on one thing: there was a passionate sense of community in the area, meaning that the Aborigines could share the pain of their long-time oppression with fellow sufferers.
The Block has been presented during DocLab Live: Interactive Home Stories.