Buddhism in Australia Traditions in Change

76 GordonWait!

Whilesocial

diversity

was

unquestionably

a

characteristicofurban

Wollongong.

thesocial

composition

of

Berkeley

remained

relatively

homogeneous.

Furthermore.

in

thecontext ofdebut

regarding

Asian

immigrationduring

the

mid—19905,

analysis

of

regional

variationsof

ethnocentrism in NewSouth

Wales

suggested

heightened

racismwithin the

region.

theIllawarra

(Dunn

and

MacDonald

ZOOI).

Vilificationof

minority

groups

in

Wollongong

was

perhaps

elevated

by

high

levelof

unemployment

because

ofstructural

changes

tothecoal

andsteel-based

regionaleconomy(Vasta

and

Castles

1996).

Whenthe

planningprocessesinllinning

the

decisionstoincludeandexcludean

ethnic

minority

religion‘splaceofworship

are

considered,

Wollongong

becomes

perhaps

aless

remarkablelocationforaBuddhist

temple.Throughout

the

I9805.

several

Sydney

municipal

Councils

deployed

town

planning

and

building

codes

todiscriminate

against

the

practice

of

minority

religions particularly

Hinduism.

Islamand

Buddhism. In I990theEthnicAffairs

Commission‘sAnnual

Report

concludedthat:

[O]ver

the

past

ten

years, minority religions

especially

ethnic

minority

religions

have

foundthemselvesatthecentreof

majorlegal

battlesaswell

as

community

conflictsovertheir

right

to

pursue

developments

of

places

of

worship

and

religious

instructionasis

requiredby

theirvariousdoctrines.

(Ethnic

AffairsCommission1990:

I7]

The

difiieultiesendured

byreligious

minoritiesover

securingplanningpermis-

sions

culminatedinan

interdepartmental

investigation

(Ethnic

AffairsCommission

ofNew South

Wales

1991).

Dunndemonstrated how

discoursesofIslam as

‘fanatical‘and‘intolerant‘

faith

heightened

uneaseand

widened

opposition

tothe

constmction

ofmosques

in

certain

Sydney

suburbs

(ZOOI:29]).

Localauthorities

refused

planningpermission

for

mosques

onthe

grounds

thatthe

proposals

were

out

of‘character'withthelocal

neighbourhood

(Bouma

I992:

52;

Murphy

and

WatsonI997:

28).

In

contrast.

Wollongong City

Council. under the

leadership

ofthe Lord

Mayor

Frank

Arkell

0974—1991)

withhis

catchery

‘Wonderful

Wollongong'.

had

championed

minorityrcligions'places

ofworship.

Forinstance.

during

the198th

planning

consentwas

given

to

building

aHindu

temple

near

Helensburgh.

Cultural

diversity

was

seemingly

embracedasa

potential

mechanismto

signifyvitality

to

potential

investorsinwhatwas

increasingly

a

depressed

local

economy.

Inthe l9905NanTien

Temple

provided

another

opportunity

for

Wollongong

City

Council to revitalize the local

economy along

‘cultural

capital'

lines

(where

‘symbolic'consumption practices provide

abasis for

capital

accumu-

lation

rather

than

production)Throughout

the

I9805international

competition

andtheassociated

process

ofdeindustrialization

severelydamagedWollongong's

economicbaseof

coalmining

and

steelmaking.

Closureof

coalminesandmassive

job

lossassociatedwiththe

restructuring

ofthesteelworkshadfar

reaching

effects

throughout

the local

economy.

generatinglong-term

structural

unemployment.

Higher

thannational

averageunemployment

ratesthencombinedwith

negative

—g—

_—

Locating

aBuddhist

temple

in

Wit/Itmgang

77

portrayals

in

Sydney‘sprint

media.

whichwroteat

length

about

the‘Steel

City's‘

pollution,unemployment

and

crime.

tosustaina

grim.ugly.

‘rust-town'

place

image.

Suchwasthe

negativeplace

image

thatAustralian

comediansridiculed

Wollongong

asa‘nowhere‘

place.

In l984the

place

name

‘Wollongong'

wasso

tarnishedthatllaroldllanson.

thenchairoftheLeisureand

TouristAsso ationl

unsuccessfullyproposed

thatthe

city

should

change

itsname

to

‘lllawarra‘.

alter

the

surroundingregion.

Sincethe l98tls. rather

than aname

change.

the

WollongongCit)

(‘ouncil

ranaseriesof

placepromotion

campaigns.

Thefirstcentred

onthe

slogan,

‘the

Leisure

Coast‘.

the mostrecent,

‘the

City

ofInnovation‘.

‘TheLeisure Coast'

strategy

was toreinvent

Wollongong

as

Sydney'splayground.

The

campaign

came

replete

with

images

of

outdoorrecreationandadventure

sports

set

against

a

backdrop

ofrainforests.beaches

andwaterfalls.However.

inthe

place

wars'

over

sharing

thedomestictourist

andleisuremarket

dollar.

thelackofa

unique.

‘must-see‘attraction

handicapped

Wollongong.Securing

NanTien

Temple

would

complementWollongong City

Council‘s

objective

of

teAimaging

the

city

and

restnrcturing

the local economic

base within the service sector.

panicularly

tourism.Thenextsection

examinesthediscoursesofthe

l’o

Kuung

Shuniiithe

choicetolocateNariTien

Temple

in

Wollongong.

Fa

Kuang

Shan.

geomancy

andNanTien

Temple

faithand

geomancy

are

crucialto

explainwhy

aTaiwaneseBuddhistsectwould

considerAustralia.

yet

alone

Wollongong.

as

asuitablesitefora

templecomplex.

According

totheBuddhistfaith.

constructing

a

templecomplex

isa

s)

nibolol'

the

devotionofthe

person

whoerected

it.

a

means

by

which

they

canaccumulate

the

meritsneededfor

achieving

final

enlightenment.

Inthelatel9805theFir

Kuang

Shah‘sGrand Master

l~Ising

Yun

was

contemplatingconstructing

anAustralian

temple

tofulfilhis

objective

to

propagate

thedharma

globally.complementing

monasteriesand

temples

in 26 other

countries

including

Canada.

ItongKong.

Malaysia.

the

Philippines

andtheUnited

States.ItisbelievedthatGrand

Master

l-Ismg

Yunfirstlearntabout

Wollongong

whencanvassedinTaiwan

by

Christine

Yuen.

aVietnameseaAustraliun from

the lllawarra. about the

possibilities

of

building

a

temple

in

Wollongong.

Thelocalresident

praised

the

region's

beauty

and

proximity

to

Sydney.

Early

in 1989 GrandMaster

llsing

Yunvisited

Wollongong

and

the

proposed

Flagstaff

Hill site.Thiswas

afavourablelocation

according

to

the

timerspace

’surface'ofthe

t‘engshiiidnflutnced

worldview.A

tengshui

worldview

identified

flowsofcosmic

energy

known

as

qi,

leatherandChow

(2000:

Jill

notethat

thesetofideas

underpinning

fengshui

arean

‘attempt

to

manipulate

the

future.

by

organising

one‘suse

oftimeand

space

inordertofitthe

patterning

ofthe

universe'.The

nonh-facing

relationship

of

Flagstaff

Hill

withMountKeiraand

Mount

Kernblawas

an

important

geomantic

selectionfactor

(Park

1994:

247).

In

the

caseofNan

Tien

Temple.

theReverendMan

Singexplained

thatinChinese

thinking

the

temples

locationin

respect

tothe

topographyrepresented

a

chair.