Strategic Partnerships initative
The Strategic Partnerships initiative is focused on providing a strong foundation for future partnerships and initiatives between the Noongar community and local governments in the Eastern Wheatbelt. This is achieved through participation in arts and cultural activities, celebrating and acknowledging Noongar culture, and the values and perspectives of Noongar people, and increasing community wide cultural understanding awareness.
noongar voices of the central eastern wheatbelt
Noongar people of the Central Eastern Wheatbelt have shared their life stories in a three part radio documentary series, Noongar Voices of the Central Eastern Wheatbelt, to be aired on ABC Radio National’s Indigenous arts and culture program, Awaye! from Saturday, 25 September. The radio documentaries will be launched in Tammin with a community celebration on Monday, 27 September 2010.
The series draws on extracts from oral history interviews conducted by Mary Anne Jebb and Bill Bunbury for Community Arts Network WA (CAN WA) as part of the three year Strategic Partnerships Initiative. The aim of the story-sharing project is to assist Noongar people to record their life stories and provide opportunities for the broader community to gain an insight into Noongar life in the Wheatbelt.
podcasts
The end of the beginning (link to external ABC Radio National website)
Holes in the tin (link to external ABC Radio National website)
You can hear the ants breathing (link to external ABC Radio National website)
broadcast dates
The Noongar Voices programmes will air on ABC Radio National’s Awaye program on the following dates:
The end of the beginning – Saturday, 25 September at 6pm (repeated 27/09 at 3pm)
Holes in the tin – Saturday, 2 October at 6pm (repeated 4/10 at 3pm)
You can hear the ants breathing – 9 October (repeated 11/10 at 3pm)
The project is funded by Healthway, promoting the Respect Yourself, Respect Your Culture message; Australia Council for the Arts and Department of Culture and the Arts.
Read the Media Release here.
bush babies
The children born at Badjaling and the Noongar midwifes that delivered them were honoured at a special story sharing day at the Badjaling Noongar Community Reserve. The event was hosted by Winnie McHenry of Badjaling, who prepared a massive feast for the 50-60 visitors who attended the event.
The day involved bringing together those born at the reserve, their descendants and descendants of the Noongar midwifes to share their stories and celebrate the midwifes and the bush hospital they built at the reserve. A film crew from FTI's Indigneous Community Stories program was on hand to assist people to capture their stories on archival quality film as well as oral historian, Mary Anne Jebb, who has been working closely with the Badjaling community and CAN WA to develop the project.
Photo | Brad Rimmer | From left standing > Muriel Collard, Charlotte Smith, Janet Colbung. From left sitting > Winnie McHenry, Myrtle Yarran, Etty Winmar, Dorcus Pickett, Fred Pickett and Myra Jetta.
Photographer Brad Rimmer ran photography workshops with young people throughout the day who later took portraits of Elders and helped to document the event.
The story sharing day in one of the activities developed as part of the Bush Babies project. In the lead up to the event several of the women with connections to the reserve visited the Battye Library and met with DIA collections and heritage staff to source archival images and documents. Photo album workshops were later held in Kellerberrin and Quairading with albuming expert Raelee Cook. The workshops provided people with the opportunity to collate their photographs and exchange images and stories.
The Bush Babies program is funded by FaHCSIA and forms part of CAN WA's Eastern Wheatbelt Strategic Partnership Initiative, supported by Healthway - Respect Yourself Respect Your Culture, the Department for Culture and the Arts and the Australia Council.
Oral history and community story project
We have engaged oral historian, Mary-Anne Jebb and radio producer, Bill Bunbury to interview and record the stories of local Noongar people. All interviews are recorded with broadcast quality sound, allowing for the participants to receive a copy of their interviews and have the opportunity to contribute an abstract from their interview for a series of radio documentaries exploring local history.
Djurin excursion
Kellerberrin elders Charlotte Smith, Hazel Winmar and Reynald McIntosh took Noongar students from Kellerberrin District High School for a day of traditional cultural skills at the Djurin mission site, a place where many of the Elders were born and lived.
The students learnt how to make damper on an open fire and help Reynald McIntosh skin and prepare a kangaroo for cooking. Oral historian Mary-Anne Jebb brought along recording equipment, teaching students sound recording skills. Throughout the day they interviewed Elders and each other, and enjoyed fresh damper and succulent kangaroo along with stories of life on the reserve.
supported by
