Queensland Faces Backlash Over 2032 Olympic Stadium Plan On Sacred Indigenous Land

The Queensland government is reportedly planning to build the main stadium for the 2032 Olympics on a historically significant Indigenous site in central Brisbane, which is part of a sacred songline and the location of a past massacre.

Opposition grows as Queensland government breaks past promises

While the official announcement is yet to be made, the opponents have already protested against the plans.

The Save Victoria Park group has consulted lawyers for a possible court challenge, arguing that the stadium will destroy green space and harm a site important to First Nations communities, The Guardian reported.

Premier David Crisafulli had previously promised not to build a new athletics stadium and specifically ruled out Victoria Park as a location. However, the government is now expected to follow a recommendation from its Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority to move forward with the project.

Victoria Park was turned into a golf course in 1931. However, in 2020, the Brisbane City Council made plans to turn the 64-hectare site back into a park.

The lord mayor, Adrian Schrinner, had said in 2020, "Victoria Park has a really rich Indigenous history and one of the centrepieces of the park will be the lake – Lake Barrambin – and that has a wide Indigenous history as well."

Historian warns of devastation

Historian Ray Kerkhove, who had conducted multiple heritage assessments of Victoria Park, also known as Barrambin, for different government levels, said if Crisafulli announced plans to build a stadium there, he would feel "horror and despair."

He explained that Victoria Park, which was heritage-listed, was likely the most important Indigenous heritage site in central Brisbane. In the 19th century, up to 1,500 Indigenous people lived there in a town camp before being forced onto missions. In the 20th century, many returned to live in the park once they were allowed to leave the missions.

"That's a continuity of nearly 200 years. I've walked around there and found stone tools and oyster shells on the ground," he said. "There's this long history of Aboriginal people having that place as a special place. Of course, it is (on a songline). Most base camps are on songlines."

Kerkhove pointed out that at least two recorded massacres took place in Victoria Park in the 1840s. In both incidents, the entire town camp was burned down.

Crisafulli pushes Olympic plans forward

Crisafulli, who took office in November, said on Monday that the government planned to move forward after four years of delays under Labor. He stated that the plan would ensure Brisbane hosts a great Olympics when the world is watching.

The Queensland government was also considering canceling funding for the Brisbane Live Arena, which was planned to host swimming events.