In the lead-up to Reconciliation Week, we spoke to Indigenous father and son David Christian and Jakob Christian-Velt who are both on the road construction team for the FC Alliance.

David understands from his grandfather that they’re part of the Wiradjuri people from central New South Wales. He grew up in the Elizabeth Park and Port Augusta areas.

An experienced civil construction worker, David was one of the first workers on site for the Fleurieu Connections Alliance in 2022. He was able to see the roadways transform over more than 2 years working as a labourer and operating a roller. He has recently started working on the second stage of the project—Aldinga to Sellicks Beach.

Meanwhile, Jakob followed in his dad’s footsteps and started on site about 18 months ago as a labourer and later moved to the environmental team. He helps with environmental aspects such as sediment and erosion controls across the project, which he enjoyed as it allowed him to see ‘a lot more of the site’.

Both David and Jakob were really positive about the Aboriginal artwork that is being installed across key structures of the Main South Road Duplication project (Stage 1) including Port Road bridge, Tatachilla underpass, the Coast to Vines underpass and Pedler Creek bridge. David described the artwork as ‘sensational’.

Early in his time with the FCA, David enjoyed having the opportunity to spend time with and transport Aboriginal heritage monitoring staff around site. He was able to see how they checked and assessed areas such as Pedler Creek—where the new bridge has now been constructed—for Aboriginal heritage items.

When asked about reconciliation and what it meant to him, David said that he felt that things were changing now. ‘I feel that now we’re moving forward,’ he said.