MEDIA RELEASE

Minto ‘remembered’ in new book and website

Released 24 May 2007

Information and Cultural Exchange
PO Box 4033 Parramatta NSW 2124 Australia
T: +61(2) 9897 5744 / F: +61(2) 9897 5766

22 May, 2007: The full range of emotions – from sadness to joy and excitement – were on display at Minto Community Library for the launch of the Remembering Minto book and website (www.rememberingminto.org.au).

Remembering Minto was initiated by housing estate residents to capture the stories, memories and images of Minto and its community. Coordinated by Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) and the Remembering Minto Group, the project has been supported through the NSW Department of Housing.

Minto is a community undergoing enormous change. Sections of the Minto public housing estate, built in the 1970s, have recently been demolished and many residents relocated. Much of the estate will soon be gone, and the landscape transformed in coming years. This redevelopment was the impetus for residents, many of whom who had lived in the area for two to three decades, to record their stories.

The story of the Minto estate is interesting and sometimes controversial. When the first public houses were built in 1976 residents had to contend with very limited services – no doctor, no shops and a bus service that only ran once daily. In 1978 Minto hit the front pages of the papers when children from the public housing estate were not permitted to attend local schools.

Despite these hardships, and perhaps because of them, Minto residents bonded closely and formed a tight-knit community.

Verna Barker, a resident since 1980, read her story at the launch and described the culture of compassion on the estate: “People used to come to our door and ask for eggs and bread and butter and everything. And you just used to give it to them. You didn’t question it because you knew it was the surroundings you were living in. It was coming from your heart. You just give it and you never ask for it back.”

Remembering Minto has been embraced by residents of Minto, many of whom are still coming to terms with the impact that the re-development and relocation have had on the community.

Bev Harvey, a resident and founding member of Remembering Minto project made the trip back from Port Macquarie to be the MC at the launch, where she has lived since she was relocated, “My 21-year-old – she’s really mature for her age – and I think that growing up in Minto has taught her that: the rough, the good and bad. She takes everything in her stride…In Minto nobody was better than you and you were all treated the same. So that’s what I miss, not having people accepting me and my family for who we are.”

Books are free for residents of the public housing estate. Contact ICE on 9897 5744.

Visit www.rememberingminto.org.au or www.ice.org.au for more information and stories.