A gathering to be called ‘This Land is Our Land’ has been created to enable people to come together to form a Cultural Heart for Gosford through the simple act of holding hands.
Event organiser and Multi Arts Confederation (MAC) committee member, Ms Victoria ‘Fi’ Hopkins said: “We encouraqe the community to wear red, as an aerial shot will be taken by photographer Andrew Cooney flying high in his helicopter.
“The event will take place on Gosford Leagues Club Field on January 24 and will start promptly at 3:00pm. “The event will send a clear message to government to retain the old Gosford Public School site and the waterfront Crown Land for public recreation and for cultural and community purposes,’ Ms Hopkins said.
“This land is community space and it should be retained as community space,” she said. Ms Hopkins said the Central Coast Regional Development Corporation needed to get to know its people and its area. “They are faceless and we need to have people we can talk to and let us know what is happening because this has been hidden behind closed doors. “This area belongs to the people and the people should have a vision and be consulted on what is going here,” added MAC founder, Ms Margaret Hardy.
Local historian, Ms Kay Williams added: “The Government must learn to govern for the community not rule for vested interest. “In any given time or place, arts is the barometer of society – it tells our story, teaches our past, and touches our future in ways that reach everyone,” Ms Hopkins said.
“In support of our efforts, Central Coast historian, Mr Peter Rea has reworked the classic Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger song, ‘This Land is Your Land’. “To be led by the Ecopella Choir, we encourage you to raise your voices as one coherent collective community, through cooperation as united we stand,” she said. Mr Rea’s lyrics are:
This land is your land,
this land is my land From the Upper Hawkesbury to the Lion Island,
From Patonga beaches to the northern reaches,
This land belongs to you and me.
This land is your land,
this land is my land,
From Avoca to Yattalunga,
This land belongs to you and me.
This land is your land,
this land is my land,
Waterfronts and school sites let them be,
All the bush lands, the public spaces.
This land belongs to you and me.
This land is your land, this land is my land,
It’s not the government’s or any thieves’.
It’s not developers or selected residents, This land belongs to you and me.
Email, Jan 12, 2016 Victoria Fi Hopkins, Multi Arts Confederation