From the Head
To Do Something Good and Beautiful in the World Something momentous has been happening at the School. The opening of Dhupuma Barker in North East Arnhem Land at the start of Term 2, 2021, marked a daring new partnership between an Indigenous community in remote Australia and Barker College in our 132nd year. At a recent assembly after I shared a few images of the unforgettable commencement ceremony, which occurred on 19 April 2021, a Year 7 student asked me the profound but simple question: “Mr Heath, why did we do this?” “Why did Barker do this?” was exactly the right question to ask. Gunyangara is a small community of around 200 Indigenous people over 4,000 kilometres away from Barker College in Hornsby. We already have made connections with the Darkinjung people on the Central Coast of NSW and, in January 2020, we established Ngarralingayil at Wollombi in the Lower Hunter Valley region. Isn’t this enough? I loved the simple honesty of the Year 7 student, voicing the thoughts that no doubt were being contemplated by many others. The short answer to the question is that we were invited, which is no small honour for our School. We were asked to participate in delivering a vision for autonomy and agency amongst remote Indigenous communities. Aware of our work at Darkinjung and Ngarralingayil, the organisers of the annual Garma
Festival, invited me to share our story at the Education Forum at the 2019 Festival at Gulkula in the Northern Territory. Barker College subsequently partnered with the Yothu Yindi Foundation to create an education pipeline in remote Australia, one that allows children to remain in their communities without losing access to the opportunities excellent schools in more developed parts of the country can provide. The result is the formation of the Dhupuma Barker School in Gunyangara in NE Arnhem Land, a bilingual school for Primary years children. The Indigenous leaders are the guides, the protectors and the custodians of Yolngu Matha (language) and Yolngu Rom (lore), with Barker providing the delivery of the Australian Curriculum, supporting the children to walk in two worlds to the enrichment of all. There is so much more to share than space in The Barker magazine allows. Perhaps the Year 7 student would not find it satisfactory alone to say that the reason for Dhupuma Barker was that we were invited. The reason to join this mighty work unfolding at such a distance lies deep within the heart of our purposes, of our Mission and our Vision. When the Rev Henry Plume established
Spring 2021 • Issue 132 • The Barker • 1
