Acknowledgement of country

The swine team would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation, the traditional owners of the land on which the SSU offices are located and our staff live and work. We extend this respect to Elders past, present and future, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Swinburne students, faculty and alumni.

As creators, writers, and artists of all types, we feel it is vital to acknowledge the deep connection to land, sea and community held by the Traditional Custodians.

As we may draw inspiration from and explore our connection to so-called Australia, we recognise First Nations peoples as the original storytellers, whose knowledge and wisdom has been, and continues to be, passed through generations since time immemorial. We also recognise the continued attempted destruction of this cultural practice through British colonisation.

Sovereignty was never ceded, always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

If you would like to learn more about what Swinburne is doing to recognise and repair the ongoing harm inflicted by colonisation, you can visit the Moondani Toombadool centre on the Hawthorn campus or online. On their webpage, you can find the transcript of the 2020-2023 Reconciliation Action Plan as well as a video recording of the 2021 Barak-Wonga Oration with the late great Elder, Uncle Jack Charles.

You may have noticed a gorgeous new café opened in 2022 at the Hawthorn campus, but did you know Co-Ground are a social enterprise? 100% of the profits go towards funding local and global projects. They have partnered with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to bring Swinburne a Co-Ground café in the newly named Yarrwinbu (‘enjoy’ in Woi Wurrung, the language of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation) space on the bottom floor of the AR building, opposite the Moondani Toombadool centre.

Not only is the café serving up delicious coffee and food, fueling many of our swine meetings, but they provide hands-on hospitality training and mentorship.

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