ONE of Springvale’s most important multicultural sites has been commemorated, with the opening of the long-planned Enterprise Hostel rose and sculpture garden.
Although the former migrant hostel in Westall Road, Springvale, is now a retirement village, its past as a welcoming point for migrants to the suburb will not be forgotten.
The garden features more than 200 roses and, at its centre, a three-metre glass rose petal.
The hostel was built more than 40 years ago to accommodate up to 1000 refugees and migrants at any one time. The mayor of the then Springvale Council told hostel residents: “You are welcome. Become part of this community but retain your culture and your language. Build your places of worship. Form your own social clubs.”
Garden project convener Merle Mitchell said this was the basis for the harmonious community that was established and whose “legacy continues to this day”.
The Spirit of Enterprise Project, led by members of the Springvale community, has been described as having national significance, with several leading Australians formally endorsing the project.
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser said the project “clearly shows what happens when new migrants are welcomed with open arms and brought in to the community. It adds to the diversity”.
Councillors Roz Blades and Matthew Kirwan, who attended the opening, agreed the project and finished garden were wonderful acknowledgments of the hostel’s role in Springvale’s past.
