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Elders join truth-telling By Mikayla van Loon Wurundjeri Elders and Yoorrook Justice commissioners gathered in Ringwood East on Wednesday 25 May to discuss the importance of truth-telling and to share stories. As one of the only yarning circles in the eastern suburbs, Yoorrook Justice Commission Chair Professor Eleanor Bourke said Elders from various nations attended the yarn. “Commissioners were warmly welcomed as they have been across the state. We are grateful for the time Elders have made to meet with us. Our communities are interconnected in many ways,” she said. Professor Bourke said commissioners were able to provide an update on the Yoorrook process, including the nuther-mooyoop (submission process) and wurrek tyerrang (public hearings). Each part of this process beginning with the Elders yarns, Professor Bourke said, “allows Traditional Owners and First Peoples to share their, or their family’s and community’s, experiences of injustices since colonisation.” “There have been a lot of common experiences shared in our yarns as we have met with Elders across the State. “In particular, there have been many discussions about the missions and reserves that were established across Victoria, in particular Coranderrk, and how impactful they have been for many Victorian First People.” A takeaway from this meeting on Wurundjeri Country, Professor Bourke said was that there is still much work to be done in ensuring people in power and all Victorians hear the truth of First Nations people in this state.
Yoorrook chair Professor Eleanor Bourke and deputy chair Sue-Anne Hunter listen to Elders at the Ringwood East yarning circle. “Yoorrook’s mission to bring truth, understanding and transformation to Victoria is an important part of that process and these Elders yarns are a strong place to start. “Creating a new public record that includes this evidence will help all Victorians develop a shared understanding of our history.”
Happening on the precipice of National Reconciliation Week, Professor Bourke said “it is a time to celebrate Australia’s Indigenous history and culture and explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.” “Yoorrook’s recommendations for healing,
Picture: SUPPLIED
system reforms and changes to laws, policy and education, are an important part of the reconciliation process in Victoria.” Professor Bourke said she was grateful for the time Elders have given to the Yoorrook process and she hopes to keep connecting with the community as it continues.
Campaign a success in returning works to Wurundjeri From page 1 “William Barak has had a profound impact on Victoria’s cultural heritage, with his contribution as an ambassador and advocate for his people continuing to have an impact today.” Aboriginal Affairs minister Gabrielle Williams said these works will be returning to where they rightfully belong. “We congratulate the Wurundjeri on their success in fighting for and securing this important piece of history, which is invaluable to the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung People, and to the broader Victorian public,” she said. With over 1000 people contributing to the fundraising efforts, as well as the government support, Jacqui said it was important to recognise that there were a lot of “players involved in getting these beautiful artworks back.” “We can’t thank people enough for stepping up and saying ‘this was the right thing to do. It’s now time. We need to celebrate William Barak more’,” she said. Jacqui said these artworks speak of the time in Barak’s life in the 1880s and 1890s
when his wife and son had already passed but he was focused on sharing and passing on the history to his descendants. “He made sure he did these paintings to depict what was actually going on in Country,” she said. “He did this work for our survival, because at that stage a lot of people would have died out and Barak died in 1903, he was about 85 years old. So that was his way of capturing anything that he thought that would be lost. “We were told that we couldn’t speak our language, we couldn’t do our hunting, we couldn’t use traditional medicines or anything like that. He was just trying to give the information to us knowing that it may not have survived.” Barak’s artworks formed a collection, telling the history of Wurundjeri using Earth pigments and charcoal mostly seen throughout many of the works placed at the National Gallery in Victoria. The shield itself represents Aboriginal lore and custom, particularly when someone entered Country. “When someone would come onto Coun-
try and they realised they were all great persons, they would break their spears and then that couldn’t be used on them and that was a sign of friendship. The way I see the shields is they are a part of ceremony as well.” Jacqui said with the artworks returning to Wurundjeri, where she expects they will join Barak’s other works at the National Gallery, she said it is time for people to learn about the man and the leader. “When I first started reading about Barak, I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God, my uncle’s an amazing, honourable man and it’s a really proud day today. “I think everything’s aligning at the moment and I think Barak’s really trying to tell his story. He’s trying to reawaken everyone. We always say before we came back onto Coranderrk in 2000, the place had just been sleeping. “[We need] to keep Barak’s dream alive and it’s not just the Wurundjeri people, it’s everyone in Melbourne who really needs to find out more about Barak. He was a wonderful man in all different ways and he did everything in a peaceful way.”
William Barak was a Wurundjeri artist and leader, who was tightly linked to Coranderrk in Healesville. Picture: VICTORIAN STATE LIBRARY COLLECTION
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Tuesday, 31 May, 2022
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