At the dramatic close of Territory on Netflix, there's the final explosive climax centered on the "Sorry Place" — the sacred Indigenous site on the Lawson family's Marianne Station.
Mining magnate and ruthless, Sandra Kirby would pave a road through this important cultural site as part of her scheme to use its gold mines for storing nuclear waste.
The Indigenous community united with characters such as Nolan to protect the site with the help of the Lawson family. However, Kirby was connected enough that allowed her to avoid official protections, which resulted in the very tragic destruction of the Sorry Place: a symbol of her disdain for Indigenous heritage and love for profit-making.
Here's a look into themes of this destruction and the dynamics of the Indigenous community, the Lawson family, and Kirby, all seen on Territory.
Corporate greed led to the destruction of the Sorry Place on Territory
Sandra Kirby required a road to a uranium waste site she wanted to establish on Marianne Station. She regarded the "Sorry Place" as an impediment and was willing to demolish it to achieve her objectives.
By exploiting internal divisions between some Indigenous leaders, including Nolan, who was able to negotiate the ties between his community and the Lawson family, Kirby advanced her cause.
Nolan, the so-called "traitor" of his own people, initially reaches out to her in what one can argue as trying to gain some leverage or covering parts of their Indigenous roots, but in reality, Kirby is the one who brings about both his and their community's demise through actions.
His predecessors are also partly to blame; Colin Lawson, their patriarch, had previously acted against the registration of that cultural site as the "Sorry Place," which therefore became legally unprotected.
These were actions that indirectly created space for Kirby's ideas to come to fruition by setting him at odds with his Indigenous neighbors.
As one community member explained,
“The land and its memory hold importance beyond measure — it’s not just a property but a reminder of past traumas.”
This destruction, and Colin's part in it, uncovers a history of hidden wounds of landowners and the Indigenous populations that weigh on the series.
Will the Indigenous community and the Lawsons continue to clash on Territory?
The destruction of the Sorry Place puts Colin and the Indigenous community in a rather fragile alliance. For so long, the Lawsons had protected Marianne Station, but their approach toward Indigenous relations had always been troublesome and power-imbalanced.
This tension boiled into the destruction of the sacred site, where some Indigenous members would ask whether the Lawsons were friends or enemies. This is what Nolan is experiencing: the battle within. He's an Indigenous leader and, simultaneously, a bridge between the Lawsons and himself, being questioned anew within his community.
The narrative unfolding so far indicates that the plans by Kirby on Marianne Station are by no means finished. While she is exiting the country at the close of this season of Territory, her desire for the land has not changed.
Her leaving, thus, presages a relative lull in conflict but one that probably heralds renewed conflicts between the Aboriginal people and the Lawsons as well as perhaps other business interests. This creates each group's struggles over agency, cultural identity preservation, and survival through times and allegiances.
According to Screen Rant,
“The series establishes Kirby as a long-term antagonist, setting her up for future clashes with the Lawsons and Indigenous leaders alike.”
It makes Territory an interesting and refreshing blend with modern-day land disputes from this dimension of power, heritage, and betrayal. Thus, it will be more focused on the Indigenous community's land rights and community relations for the refreshing narrative about the Australian West.
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Territory is now available on Netflix.
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