By artist Tina Antico

My exhibition of hand-stitched textile images of cabins that used to be at Bonnie Vale in the Royal National Park is on show at Thirroul Library during November.

Strolling between the Bonnie Vale cabins during the 1970s was a step back in time to unpaved, sandy lanes, outhouses and lean-to’s, rainwater tanks, even an old bore hand-pump with mossy basin on a stump catching the drips. Some cabins were more distinctive than others, with individual colours, style and haphazardness: even a child-like cubby-house quality. However, all were neat and well-maintained with property demarcations of either mown lawns, garden plantings or a makeshift fence. The cabin owners were house-proud and always busy, gardening, hanging out washing, painting and mending walls and roofs.

Bonnie Vale campsite was a lively and friendly place where wire doors slammed, neighbours yarned to neighbours and called after their kids who ran free and barefoot all summer and winter-long. As a regular passer-by in the 1970s I was always greeted and maybe even recognised by some of the residents. However, I was an outsider and felt the strong sense of belonging that connected the cottage families.

In 2000, I returned to a modern Bundeena and newly envisioned Bonnie Vale campsite. I took photos of the last 20 or so Bonnie Vale cabins. These were all that was left standing from the charming village of the 1970s, when there were approximately 170 cottages. Only a handful of cottages were well-maintained, and the rest stood deserted and hollowed-out, marked with a yellow X which slated them for demolition. I wanted to preserve what was left of my 30-year-old memories. I imagined I might one day make a quilt-like memorial, so I drew up a blueprint of my favourite cottages from my photos. This drawing hung on a wall for another 20 years.

In 2021 I used this blueprint to create a series of hand-stitched cabin replicas as my major work for gaining my Diploma of Visual Arts. Each cabin is stitched by hand using various thread types, embroidery stitches and appliqué techniques in a naive, patchwork style. Some fabrics were purpose-bought, but mostly I used scraps and remnant fabric sourced from friends, op-shops and garage sales.

In recreating Bonnie Vale’s demolished cabins, I also acknowledge the historic presence of the Dharawal people by including their middens as a key element in my representation of the cottages. In a literal sense, these middens were the very foundations of the cabins. To invoke images of the middens I have used shells and found objects stitched into the foreground of each cottage. The Dharawal peoples had withdrawn from the Bundeena/Bonnie Vale area by the late 1820s, but the middens remain. The team from Extent Heritage Pty Ltd, led by forensic archaeologist and anthropologist, Peter Douglas, have identified indigenous shelters and midden sites throughout the entire peninsular. These sites are now protected and respected by the National Parks and all current visitors.

Now a regulated and manicured campsite replaces the empty plots at Bonnie Vale with protruding brick footings and tumble-down fences. There are still family connections to the standing cabins. You can hear stories and memories of nine Bonnie Vale cottage families interviewed by Edie Swift on Wollongong City Libraries oral history website Illawarra Stories.

Visit illawarrastories.com.au/shacks-of-the-royal-national-park/