WugulOra
Friday, 26 January 2024
Barangaroo Reserve, Millers Point
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC
Bujari gamarruwa
Diyn Babana Gamarada
Thank you, Yvonne for your acknowledgment of the Traditional Owners and your welcome to everyone here on Gadigal country, as we, in a public acknowledgment of respect, honour the Gadigal Elders – past, present, and emerging – and those of all the Nations of our State. Thank you to Muggera for the Smoking Ceremony, centring us in the traditions of this land.
Elders, Premier[1], Parliamentarians[2], Eora Bujari – good people – all,
Last year, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of WugulOra, a video was made with scenes from previous years, going back to the very first in the Royal Botanic Gardens, when it was called Woggan-ma-gule: the Meeting of the Waters.
A young dancer in the video said: “we come with love and passion” and asked those who didn’t share the songlines as their heritage to come with open hearts and minds
As the video reminded us, and as is evident this morning, WugulOra is ceremony where dance, language, and songlines blend new with old. It is more solemn than mere performance, more celebratory than mere occasion; it is an occasion to reflect and to be honest.
Today, I ask, in the spirit of reflection and honesty, this year are things different?
We cannot ignore that we had a referendum that didn’t pass.
Some weeks after the referendum, in one community in the north of the State, there was profound disappointment (and probably more); but in the resilience I see so often, that wasn’t going to stop them from continuing with their vision of establishing a viable eco-industry on their lands, to support their Elders, themselves, and the emerging generation, many of whom we met at the local High School, all keen to achieve.
It was the same in another community, this time down south, who were likewise determined – in their case, to continue the expansion of their art gallery into a venue for hire, available to the whole community, establishing a thriving enterprise with trained catering staff, where, I was told, would be found the best cappuccinos in town.
There was one complaint. The art gallery had an exhibition of exquisite baskets woven by local artists and ‘sister weaving’ from other clans. The complaint was that, in seeking to exhibit their works outside their own gallery, they were always relegated to the ‘arts and crafts’ section.
As one feisty Elder explained: “Our weaving is more than that”. She showed me a woven fish trap designed so that, once inside, the fish couldn’t swim back out when caught and were kept alive in the running water until the trap was collected – much smarter than a net on a pole with the fish chucked in a bucket!
In one sense, this story is but a vignette. But in reality, it was a lesson in culture. As the feisty Elder said: “this is science”, woven with skill and artistry.
Three years ago, the NSW Rhodes Scholar was a proud Murrawurri medical student, one of many thousands of First Nations students engaging in tertiary education[3]. The achievements of these young people are the stories of the emerging generation, joining the tens of thousands of Indigenous Australians already with tertiary qualifications[4].
On a very different scale, last August I attended the 14th awards ceremony of Supply Nation at the International Convention Centre, a trade show of 200 Indigenous businesses – small, medium, large, national, and international. The celebratory dinner that evening packed out the Grand Ballroom. The ceremony was reported in the Koori Mail, but I didn’t pick it up in the financial pages of any other newspaper.
Achievement – in all its enriching forms – needs to be acknowledged and applauded. It also needs to be within reach of us all. Disadvantage, too often an impediment to achievement, in any part of our community, must not be allowed to be a life sentence.
I have one more story…
Recently, during the Welcome and Smoking Ceremony opening this year’s Sydney Festival, a voice shouted out: “get a real black to do it.”
To applause, the Elder performing the ceremony simply said: “you’re looking at one.”
Not many of us find ourselves in that situation: abused in front of a crowd because of an assumption made about our identity, in this case, it would seem, because of a perceived lack of colour.
Racism – casual, social, or systemic – and prejudice need to be recognised and called out for what they are. Not to do so diminishes us as a people. We need to be, and I believe we are, better than that.
With a willingness to learn, to listen, and to celebrate culture offers us a path to walk together as WugulOra – one mob.
So, let us take up the invitation of the young dancer: come with an open heart and mind, not only to this ceremony which so rightly commences Australia Day, but every day, as we honour the oldest living culture in the world and celebrate all it means to live in this most unique land.
[1] The Honourable Chris Minns MP, Premier of NSW, Member for Kogarah
[2] The Honourable David Harris MP, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty, Minister for Gaming and Racing, Minister for Veterans, Minister for Medical Research, Minister for the Central Coast and Member for Wyong; the Honourable Benjamin Franklin MLC, President of the Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales; the Honourable Greg Piper, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly; the Honourable Natalie Ward, Shadow Minister for Transport and Roads, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Shadow Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party representing the Honourable Mark Speakman, Leader of the Opposition; the Honourable Linda Burney, Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians; Senator Andrew Bragg, Senator for NSW; The Honourable Tanya Plibersek MP, Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Member for Sydney
[3] According to the 2021 Australian Census, of the 812,728 respondents identifying as Indigenous and/or Torres Strait Islander, 42,422 were attending a Tertiary education institution: abs.gov.au/2021
[4] According to the 2021 Australian Census, of the 812,728 respondents identifying as Indigenous and/or Torres Strait Islander, 40,554 had a Bachelor Degree or higher as their highest educational attainment; 34,681 had an Advanced Diploma and Diploma level as their highest educational attainment: abs.gov.au/2021