Vive la Révolution

Book cover by Catherine Hutchinson, with sculpture by local Tomerong artist, Brandt Noack, Oh Happy Day, 2022.

Buried Truths is historian Shirley Fitzgerald's account of the successful six-year campaign (2018 to 2024) to have the site of the Holy Trinity Church in Huskisson heritage listed - including the church, unmarked graves and old growth trees.

Fitzgerald was a leading participant in the campaign and is one of Australia’s finest social historians having authored numerous books. This one is a lively read and a serious account of how the campaigners won, against the odds, in a village with a population of less than 1,000 where tourism cash is king.

The story traverses a complex landscape, both literal and metaphorical. Richly illustrated with images and documents, the book unearths the site’s many secrets, slowly revealed during the grassroots action and scientific research from the Huskisson Heritage Association and other supportive groups, particularly the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council.

It begins with the ‘Shoalhaven Heritage Study’ [Peter Freeman Pty Ltd, 1995-98], which supported listing the whole site. But persistent opposition was led by the Anglican church hierarchy in Sydney, Councillor Greg Watson and others on the Shoalhaven City Council who were determined not to let heritage values stand in the way of urban growth.

After a brief history of the Holy Trinity congregation and its Cyril Blacket-designed church, described by experts as “one of NSW’s best little church buildings”, the second half of the book details the struggle for heritage listing.

Local Aboriginal people from Wreck Bay supported the campaign from the outset. Over time, the importance of the site as a burial ground for Indigenous ancestors was increasingly recognised, culminating in the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council leading some of the campaign's most significant actions as well as profound moments of Indigenous ceremony and celebration that bridged cultural gaps in the small town and represented hope for a new respect between neighbours.

Everything changed after the State Government ruled that an independent Ground Penetrating Radar Report (GPR) be made. That report found ‘a total of fifty-eight areas have been identified that are likely to be unmarked graves, along with an additional fifteen areas that may also be unmarked graves.’

The chapter titled “Unholy Trinity – Church, Council, Developer” underscores the complicated alliances at play. At the book’s launch, author Dr. Shirley Fitzgerald said that, while the developer was widely seen as the story’s arch-villain, she increasingly saw the Anglican Church as occupying that role—not the local parishioners (many of whom supported the campaign), but the church’s property arm, which she described as “totally unsympathetic and - dare I say it - un Christian.”

Fitzgerald also talked about another player in this story: the police. She listed the ‘accidental heroes’ who were arrested for their efforts in the name of heritage: Evan Christen, Joanne Warren, Tim Peach, Daniel McConell, Akira Kamada.

"Jo Warren and Akira Kamada were both physically assaulted, and crash tackled to the ground – a couple of people in their 60s – and Akira’s shoulder was broken. Think about it. This is shocking. This is not okay. Talk about life in the village." 

"State member, John Hatton, spent many hours compiling victim statements and documenting these events in an attempt to get the authorities to take notice. They didn’t." 

At the start of the book, Fitzgerald addressed the value of writing about 'a small campaign in a small place'?

"Because everywhere at present, heritage places are under increasing stress as legitimate needs for more housing, more infrastructure and denser building practices compete for land – especially coastal land.

" ...destroying unique spaces like this reduces the overall value of the area. It is obvious that heritage places are tourist attractions, and it is blindingly obvious that the former Anglican Church site is a heritage place.

"In a village of humble origins like Huskisson, there are no grand buildings and too many examples where humble but greatly loved places that people value and care about have been demolished in the name of progress. 

"There is always something that needs doing for people who care for community, and this is just one of many campaigns to keep the wonder of Jervis Bay free from overbearing and inappropriate developments.

"These local battles included community actions in the 1960s and 70s against plans for a nuclear reactor at Murrays Beach and a very ambitious plan to transform the northern part of Jervis Bay into a major industrial hub, complete with integrated steelworks, petrochemical plant and oil refinery.

"There were protests against Navy bombardment of Bundarwa/Beecroft Peninsula from the late 1980s, and many protests over plans to relocate the East Coast Armaments Complex from Newington (Sydney) to Jervis Bay.

"Campaigns to stop pollution of waterways, destruction of wetlands and incursions into forest lands are ongoing.

"Now, in 2025, there is a focus on Callala and Manyana, where developments threaten to destroy precious old growth forests along with the destruction of rare and endangered species.

"At Culburra there is an added layer of what the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council has called ‘cultural vandalism and pure greed’ in relation to a development that, if it goes ahead, will destroy extensive concentrations of over 18,000 Indigenous artefacts.

"This is a site of high cultural significance, next to Lake Wollumboola where urban expansion will endanger the viability of the lake and the birdlife of this Key Biodiversity Area. 

"And so, the preservation of the former Anglican Church site in Huskisson is just one story of many. It will be worth telling if it provides some inspiration for all the struggles still to come."

Alongside contemporary images of the community's pickets and rallies, Buried Truths contains fascinating historical images of Huskisson and the site, and of some of the people known to be buried there, including several sailors who died in Jervis Bay and Indigenous leader James Golding, known as ‘King Budd Billy, King of Jarvis Bay’.