In the early 1980s, very few Australians would have heard of Hindmarsh Island and the phrase ‘secret women’s business’. Both are now part of our history and numerous books have been written about what came to be known as the Hindmarsh Island Affair. The latest is The Meeting of the Waters by Margaret Simons.
Hindmarsh Island is a small island in Lake Alexandrina near the mouth of the Murray. By 1989, Tom and Wendy Chapman (she was a former Lord Mayor of Adelaide and had associations with the Liberal Party) had advanced plans to expand the small marina they had developed on the island. These plans included building a bridge to the island, which was at that time only accessible by ferry. The Chapmans negotiated with the Premier of South Australia, John Bannon, and because the discussions were positive the Chapmans pursued the other steps they believed were necessary. These included an environmental impact study and consultation with representatives of the local Aboriginal people, the Ngarrindjeri. As history records, these moves were far from adequate and by the time the affair had run its course the Chapmans were broke and bitter and the Ngarrindjeri people deeply divided.
Even in the early stages, while the entrepreneurial couple saw dollar signs, others looked at their plans in very different terms. Conservationists, who had originally given qualified approval, were concerned for the fragile wetlands. The Aboriginal Heritage Branch wanted more serious work done on the mythology of the area and possible sites of importance. They recommended a report by an anthropologist, which was commissioned and carried out. Years later, the Federal Court found that it was uncertain whether the anthropologist was aware of the proposed building of the bridge.
Local residents and other concerned people soon banded together in loosely organised protest and called themselves Friends of Hindmarsh Island. When this name was registered by pro-bridge supporters, the name was changed to Friends of Goolwa and Kumerangk. Kumerangk is the Ngarrindjeri name for Hindmarsh Island and is said to mean place of pregnancy, while Goolwa was claimed to be the meeting of the waters, but these meanings were questioned and some believed they were part of the fabricated stories.
Late in 1993, when another anthropologist was studying the island, the first Ngarrindjeri joined the protesters. Around the same time Dr Doreen Kartinyeri, who would become a key figure in the dispute, heard about the proposed bridge. In