As part of Merimbula Public School’s 150th anniversary celebrations this year, we have recorded a new school song.
The school wanted to do something that could acknowledge and celebrate Aboriginal culture, our Koori kids and families, and to share some history of Merimbula with input from community. The school enlisted the help of local singer/songwriters Chelsea Atkins and Ricky Bloomfield to write and record a song in a local studio as part of Chelsea’s Garrijimanha (standing together) program in schools. The word Garrijimanha comes from the Yamitji nation of Mid-Western Australia, where her ancestors come from.
As a school, we have worked hard to make authentic learning connections and we are consistently working with Community to nurture Aboriginal education at Merimbula Public School. We also had some key programs and events focusing on Aboriginal education in the lead up to making this song. A large part of the information and content that went into our song, came from their own family histories and cultural information that the students learnt via the High Aims program coordinated by local community member David Dixon from Eden Campbell page.
Some of the activities our students were involved in included:
• An excursion to Biamanga National Park and Bega River flats with Ellen Mundy, David Dixon, John Aldridge and Warren Foster Snr and Jnr. David and Ellen shared stories about the history of Bega including the history of local Koori families and farming stories which contributed to colonisation, settlement and society. How Aboriginal families contributed to the community via their knowledge of farming and the industrial revolution, were also shared. Students learnt about the importance of plants and ontology, looking after the environment and only taking what is needed, as well as stories of how local families cared for and managed the environment. This excursion ended with some dance, language and songs taught to students which they really enjoyed presenting as a group performance.
• Art workshops led by local elder Auntie Colleen Dixon along with David Dixon, John Aldridge, Sarah Bancroft and Kye Musgrave. Colleen shared some traditional Far South Coast art techniques, information about animals and artefacts from her family, as well as her own art. The students then developed their own artworks based on the stories shared about animals during these sessions.
• An excursion to Bournda National Park with David Dixon, Ellen Mundy, John Aldridge and Warren Snr and Jnr. Students participated in a bush tucker walk and had a yarn about medicine, animals and care for the environment. The students then learnt some traditional dances with Warren Snr and Jnr: The Kangaroo dance celebrating hunting; The Brolga and Emu dance and ‘Pilla Pilla’. Local language was also heard via a dreaming story told by Ellen Mundy of the ‘The Bat and the Crow’.
• A yarning circle about history and culture and a basket weaving lesson was led by local community member Marcus Williams along with John Aldridge and David Dixon.
The culmination of this program was held at Merimbula Public School with our students and a group of Koori students from Eden Public School and included a dance celebration. Local community members Shaquelle Aldridge, Warren Foster Snr and Jnr, Corey Stewart, John Aldridge and David Dixon all shared their own unique knowledge of dance in an uplifting and fun dance session enjoyed by all.
All of these activities, knowledge of history and culture, along with the students’ own cultural knowledge gathered over the years, contributed to the information the students gave to Chelsea to put into our new school song. Chelsea’s skills as an artist, songwriter and musician were instrumental in putting the tune and melody together and we are very appreciative of the work she put into storyboarding the students’ ideas to construct the lyrics to the song.
We were very fortunate to be able to then consult our very own local ‘Eden Language Group’ for assistance with the pronunciation and spelling of local language. They gave us feedback via the Local Eden AECG and their help was greatly appreciated to then be able to move forward with the final production of the song.
The end result was a fun and uplifting song sung by our students about the people and places in the ‘Merimboola’ area. This was then mixed and fine-tuned by local artist Ricky Bloomfield in his studio at Merimbula Music. His creativity and flair was sensational and the students loved working with him.
The effort and collaboration that went into the production of this song was outstanding. We would like to thank all the students and community members who shared their memories and insights of their long and rich Aboriginal histories and the stories from their families. Merimbula Public School gives heartfelt thanks to Chelsea Atkins and Ricky Bloomfield for weaving our ideas into the rich tapestry that is now our new song that can now be shared with many generations to come. Please enjoy our song by clicking the recording below:
Listen to our song ...
Thank you to the following local community members who assisted us with this production: David Dixon, Colleen Dixon, Ellen Mundy, Warren Foster Senior, Warren Foster Junior, John Aldridge, Corey Stewart, Tye Cruse, Allison Simpson, Shaquelle Aldridge, Graham Moore Sue Norman, Sarah Bancroft and Kye Musgrave.
