The Allied Health Building gets a new name

Today, Ngarrindjeri Narungga Kaurna man, Robert Taylor, cleansed the building in a special ceremony attended by Steven Marshall, Premier of South Australia, Kaurna Elder Aunty Lynette Crocker and residents of the building.

The Marnirni-apinthi Building (pronounced Marn-urn-nee-a-pin-dhee) renaming acknowledges our shared history to innovate and create a new future, together.

The new name means ‘to innovate, to improve’ in Kaurna language.

For more than 60,000 years, the land now known as Lot Fourteen was an integral site to the Kaurna people as a place for camping and ceremony, between the banks of Karrawirra Parri (River of the Red Gum forest; River Torrens) and the waterholes of Kainka Wirra (Eucalypt forest, Adelaide Botanic Garden).

Now the site brings together entrepreneurs and innovators from South Australia’s leading abilities in space, defence, hi-tech and creative industries in a precinct designed and curated as a collaborative ecosystem.

With the past and the future of the precinct firmly in mind the new name for the building was developed with significant consultation with the Kaurna community.

The name reflects the key themes of:

• Respect – innovation is born from respect
• Land and place – creation is written into land and place
• Learning and leadership – connection is central to learning and leadership
• Inspiration through achievement – our achievement is a source of inspiration for all
• Collaboration and innovation – through collaboration and innovation, we can grow as one

Kaurna language has historically been spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia and the country where Lot Fourteen is located.

Originally a working hospital ward, the agile workspace has been designed to celebrate the unique features of this State Heritage building, setting the tone for the innovation precinct’s collaborative and vibrant ecosystem.

History

The Royal Adelaide Hospital was built in 1855, with the Allied Health Building constructed in 1935 as a part of a 1920s master plan to expand the hospital.

Designed by George Gavin Lawson in the Edward­ian Classical Free Style, it was the third of the four proposed new buildings to be constructed, built at the same time as the Women’s Health Building.

The Allied Health Building’s historical significance is tied to the history of the hospital as it expanded, and as the Admissions and Casualty wing for a period of its life. Its significance was as a part of a group of similar buildings on North Terrace and it having been built as part of the Interwar expansion.

The building is now home to the Stone & Chalk Startup Hub, which has an entrepreneur and hi-tech focus. Other tenants include MIT bigdata Living Lab and the Office of the South Australian Chief Entrepreneur.

Aboriginal peoples’ involvement in Lot Fourteen

Aboriginal business and employment are integral to the vision of Lot Fourteen and are the focus here through The Circle – First Nations Entrepreneur Hub, and the Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre.

The Circle, a First Nations entrepreneur hub, will offer a physical and virtual support platform for South Australian Aboriginal businesses, linking them to industry and business development opportunities.

The Circle will also support Aboriginal innovation, entrepreneurship and employment

The $200m Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre (AACC) will be Australia’s premier centre honouring Aboriginal cultures.

The AACC will create an extraordinary, immersive experience combining traditional storytelling with modern technology to deliver a major cultural tourist attractor and a source of pride for all South Australians, as the world learns more about the incredible story and unique cultures of Australia’s Aboriginal peoples.

The state government is working in close partnership with Aboriginal communities on planning and development of this internationally significant centre, to ensure it reflects their culture, values and aspirations.

We are also working together to create employment and business opportunities for Aboriginal people and to nurture new generations of Aboriginal arts practitioners, workers and visionaries.

“The little steps are the ones we can tell a story about. It’s a legacy for the rest of us.” Aunty Lynette Crocker