The lamp Post.
Drive into Katoomba and you will
see an ornate mock Victorian lamp post on the roundabout. This lamp was erected
as part of the ‘celebrations’ of the bicentenary of the 1813 crossing of the
Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth. The commemoration of this
event, orchestrated by the local tourist board, took the form of white washed,
carefully constructed images of colonial expansion. Images and events which
echoed the parochial ‘celebrations’ witnessed on a national scale in 1988 with
the bicentenary of the arrival of the First Fleet. It should come as no
surprise that such ‘celebrations’ of the achievements of white explorers in
triumphal fashion have fallen out of favour with State and Federal governments,
neither of which offered any financial support to the local tourist board.
So outraged were some by the image the tourist board promulgated of our community, that a debate between a representative of the tourist board and local academic, Dr Paddy Cavanagh, an expert in Aboriginal society and culture, was organised. If the local tourist board had been in any doubt as to the sentiments of the local community before the debate, the furious responses from the audience about lack of consultation, community involvement and general discomfort with the whitewashed nature of the events relieved them of their ignorance.
Not long after this, a commemorative lamppost was erected on the main entry to Katoomba. The idea of a genuine 19th century replica light made in China to be the first thing visitors see of our town did cause amusement among locals. The fabrication of history being a favourite pastime of chambers of commerce and tourist boards the world over. Though some expressed outrage at the $75,000 price tag, most treated it with the contempt it deserved.
Hilarity however ensued when the lamp blew over in high winds a few weeks after its erection, though it was suspected that it was accidentally knocked over by the crane that was being brought in to help with the refit of the old Coles building. The loss of the lamp post was compensated for when locals woke to find a household standard lamp placed on the pedestal in its place. This first lamp was soon joined by a motley collection of light fittings including a dolphin torch and a hurricane lamp. The lamps soon became a local spectacle. Causing a small passive aggressive note to be posted by the authorities threatening anyone who placed lamps on the site, but this did not deter locals.
Eventually a second lamp post was delivered which now sits on the site, a fabricated image to sell to the tourists. Though locals know, that for a brief few weeks, we dictated the image that visitors saw and that no matter how fine the simulated image is, locals see the motley collection of lamps that lie beneath.
So outraged were some by the image the tourist board promulgated of our community, that a debate between a representative of the tourist board and local academic, Dr Paddy Cavanagh, an expert in Aboriginal society and culture, was organised. If the local tourist board had been in any doubt as to the sentiments of the local community before the debate, the furious responses from the audience about lack of consultation, community involvement and general discomfort with the whitewashed nature of the events relieved them of their ignorance.
Not long after this, a commemorative lamppost was erected on the main entry to Katoomba. The idea of a genuine 19th century replica light made in China to be the first thing visitors see of our town did cause amusement among locals. The fabrication of history being a favourite pastime of chambers of commerce and tourist boards the world over. Though some expressed outrage at the $75,000 price tag, most treated it with the contempt it deserved.
Hilarity however ensued when the lamp blew over in high winds a few weeks after its erection, though it was suspected that it was accidentally knocked over by the crane that was being brought in to help with the refit of the old Coles building. The loss of the lamp post was compensated for when locals woke to find a household standard lamp placed on the pedestal in its place. This first lamp was soon joined by a motley collection of light fittings including a dolphin torch and a hurricane lamp. The lamps soon became a local spectacle. Causing a small passive aggressive note to be posted by the authorities threatening anyone who placed lamps on the site, but this did not deter locals.
Eventually a second lamp post was delivered which now sits on the site, a fabricated image to sell to the tourists. Though locals know, that for a brief few weeks, we dictated the image that visitors saw and that no matter how fine the simulated image is, locals see the motley collection of lamps that lie beneath.