‘Walawaani, walawaani’ was the welcome from our local Aboriginal Elder, Graham Moore, to students, staff, parents and visitors at a special NAIDOC Week school assembly at Merimbula Public School on Thursday 16 July.
Mr Moore has been instrumental in sharing his expert knowledge of language and culture within the region and was joined by community representatives Cathy Thomas and Kevin Mason, who were special guests at our assembly.
The students were educated about this year’s NAIDOC theme: We All Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate. Students learnt about how this tells us about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ strong spiritual and cultural connection to land and sea.
After a smoking ceremony on the school oval, conducted by Mr Moore and National Parks and Wildlife Aboriginal Discovery Ranger Cathy Thomas, the assembly included short presentations acknowledging the Yuin clans of the south coast as its original inhabitants, highlighting numerous sacred places among local landmarks from Twofold Bay to Bermagui waterhole.
A short iMovie, produced by the school’s Koori students, on the Dreaming story of How the Birds Got Their Colours was screened, before the school choir led the students in a rendition of the song, ‘From Little Things, Big Things Grow’ in recognition of this year’s 30th anniversary of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park handback in 1985.
Another video recounted a recent visit to Jigamy Farm at Eden, where students learned about bush tucker, traditional hunting techniques, bush medicine and dances.
The assembly was the highlight of a week of cultural events, lessons and art activities, ending with students and parents sharing lunch together to complete the celebrations.
Below please find our recording of ‘How The Birds Got Their Colours’
Listen here ...
