A Multicultural Landscape: National Parks and the Macedonian Experience
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3. Approaching the community

Established procedure In NSW certain conventions have become established when a government agency seeks to approach a particular ethnic community. I received advice from the Ethnic Affairs Commission that the first port of call in approaching a particular community is to ring the Ethnic Communities Council (ECC) and ask for a contact with the ‘peak’ community organisation.

Established procedure not always appropriate While this might work well with some communities (probably the most established), the ECC was unable to nominate ‘peak’ organisations for either of the communities I inquired about: Macedonian and Vietnamese. It is probably unrealistic to assume that community organisations in NSW will be assembled in a formation with a ‘peak’ body at the top. Many ethnic groups experience internal conflict, and it would be disingenuous to suggest that there are not conflicts between ethnic organisations.

Researchers should also be aware that the ECC is not viewed favourably by all community groups, as I discovered in negotiations with a Macedonian community worker. Macedonia and Greece have a long history of conflict. Because the ECC strongly represents Greek community organisations, a statement in my project brief that the ECC was being informed about the research roused instant suspicions. It put me in the awkward position of having to dampen the suspicion that I was aligned with Greek interests.

A matter of tact While certain protocols must be honoured, the success of cross-cultural research of this nature probably depends on a combination of tact, tenacity and serendipity. Personal contacts, where they exist, are most valuable. The previously mentioned small focus group discussion with Chinese people eventuated from my own discussions with Chimin Chan, who works on a casual basis at the NPWS where she provides assistance on GIS projects. This fruitful session, which could open the way for further research with Chinese communities, was organised with a minimum of fuss.

In contrast, attempts to organise a focus group discussion with members of the United India Association were a failure. The fact that the Association has used Parramatta Regional Park for its annual India Fair, and that differences had emerged between organisers and the NPWS personnel, could have provided an important case study that would enhance our understanding of the dispute and perhaps overcome ill feelings. Whether I was hampered by lingering distrust as a result of the dispute is difficult to determine. I was certainly given a warm audience by Dr B. K. S. Chugh, the chairman of the United India Association, who initially offered to allow us to conduct a focus group at one of the Association’s regular meetings. After much delay, I was advised that the Association could not help in this regard but that members would respond to an email questionnaire which Dr Chugh would distribute. I sent him a questionnaire as suggested, but received no responses.

The Macedonian Australian Welfare Organisation Contact with the St George Migrant Resource Centre in Rockdale proved a conduit to the Macedonian Australian Welfare Association. This community group is listed in the Ethnic Communities Reference Book, published by the ECC.[61] Gorjana Milosevski was at the time the Community Settlement Services Worker. She expressed great enthusiasm for the project and offered to assist its facilitation by organising a focus group discussion drawn from members of her women’s pensioners group and their husbands.

Gorjana’s assistance was utterly invaluable. She was convinced of the value of her community’s experiences and supported any efforts to document them. In that respect the project offered informants the prospect of assuming a position of advocacy. Gorjana recruited the discussants, organised a venue for the workshop at St George Migrant Resource Centre, and recommended an interpreter, Toni Najdov. On Gorjana’s advice, it was decided not to attempt holding the event at Audley because it would discourage the majority of participants, most of whom are grandparents and have childcare responsibilities after school.

A recognition and understanding of community groups such as the Macedonian Welfare Organisation is essential if NPWS education and information programs are to reach non-English speaking people. Already, numerous government departments and agencies, particularly those concerned with health and welfare, use them to convey information. Many of these community organisations arrange regular recreational activities including bus trips to places of interest. The existence of this sort of infrastructure could open great opportunities for the NPWS in running guiding and education programs in community languages.

Participants to bring photos The fact that our workshop was occurring in Rockdale eliminated the possibility of asking participants to take photos of sites of significance. Possibly, this would not have been highly effectual anyway, since we already knew the principal site for the Christmas picnics. Instead, participants were requested to bring personal photographs that could stimulate discussion. They were asked to bring photos of the Macedonian landscape and some of Australia. Many participants brought numerous photos, too many to be discussed or even described in a one day workshop. But they generously allowed us to borrow the photos for a short time. They were scanned at the NPWS office and then returned.

As can be seen from the reproductions here, these photos are significant primary documents that provide valuable insights on how people relate to the landscape. We were granted permission to use them in this report, and also to publish them on the NPWS web site. This is a way of disseminating the research and encouraging other communities to contact us and inform us about their own associations with national parks.

Younger people consulted Once the focus group workshop with the pensioners’ group had occurred, it was decided to seek the opinions of some younger Macedonian people in order to broaden the perspective. To this end, Toni Najdov, who translated for the pensioners, agreed to meet on a week night with some of his friends. The process was thus truncated into an evening rather than a whole day, but this was necessitated by the work commitments of the participants. The discussion was nonetheless highly revealing, and considerably broadened the scope of the research.


[61] Ethnic Communities Council of NSW, Ethnic Communities Reference Book, (Sydney: Ethnic Communities Council, 1996). I was advised that an updated edition of this directory is pending.

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