By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
Opponents say Asian gateway is too Chinese…
A FINAL design for a long-awaited Springvale Asian Gateway has failed to defuse a community group’s criticism that it was “too Chinese” in style.
Last week Greater Dandenong Council acting chief executive Jody Bosman unveiled the design, which features three traditional Chinese characters and ‘Springvale’ written in English on the top panel.
The estimated $600,000 Asian gateway will have a cross-beam, featuring ‘Welcome’ in four languages, with accompanying symbols, representing Vietnam, Cambodia, China and Australia.
It is unchanged from the design revealed by the Journal in August and criticised by South East Melbourne Vietnamese Associations Council for being “too Chinese”.
Mr Bosman last week said the council received tenders up until two weeks ago and was expecting the winning tenderer to be decided this month.
He said the design could yet receive some “fine-tuning”.
In recent months, the council has met several times with Vietnamese and Cambodian groups as well as the project’s proponent Springvale Asian Business Association (SABA) to resolve the row.
The council presented several compromise options including the removal of Chinese characters from the gateway’s top panel.
That option was endorsed by SEMVAC but opposed by SABA.
Meanwhile SEMVAC rejected a proposal adding couplets of Chinese poetry to the gateway’s columns.
The warring parties were last week surprised that the council had already put the project to tender.
SABA spokesman Stan Chang said it had left it to the council to sort out the “politics” embroiled around the design.
He held out a hope that the gateway would be built in time for Lunar New Year celebrations, which fall on Australia Day.
SABA had committed $200,000 to the project.
It rejected an overture from SEMVAC to “shoulder half” of the $200,000 in return for an equal say in the design.
“We’re not going to fight against something that doesn’t even make sense,” Mr Chang said.
SEMVAC spokesman Trung Doan said the mainly Chinese design didn’t reflect the suburb’s demographics: about 4000 residents speak Vietnamese at home, about 1000 speak Chinese.
Of the 44 shops near the proposed gateway, 16 were Vietnamese businesses and 15 Chinese, he said.
“There’s no reason the Chinese should demand this design for an ‘Asian’ gateway.”
The state Office of Multicultural Affairs and Citizenship has committed $175,000 to the project.
A council spokeswoman said the council hadn’t yet decided on its funding commitment.
Mr Chang said the gateway would become a landmark and a tourist attraction.
“We would like it to give some impetus to further development in Springvale.”
