First Nations children learn culture at Murray River's Robinvale camp

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Indigenous clans have been gathering for generations at a bend in the Murray River near Robinvale in Victoria’s northwest. They come together to learn various aspects of their local culture and history. It hasn't always been a happy place with the regions' first nations people having suffered under the white Australia policy. But for Aunty Thelma chilly the connection that comes from the annual gathering is vital.

Transcript

00:00All of the families that lived here many, many years ago came running away from assimilation

00:15policies and running away from people that wanted to take their children.

00:20And they came here to this place in Robin Love.

00:25We are on the lands of the Muri Muri and Wadi Wadi and Lachi Lachi and Tati Tati people, right beside the Murray River here.

00:35It's very significant to the people from Robin Love and this land here is where a lot of our

00:43people lived before mission days.

00:50So their generations have come back here every year since then and they actually return here

00:59every year to come and commemorate the fact that this was where their people came from.

01:07We have turned this into a place of learning and passing on knowledge of our culture.

01:15Every year we try to do something different here at Deaster Camp to pass along the culture

01:20and knowledge to other people in the community, but particularly our children.

01:25We've actually had some dance workshops with the kids that'll go on for three days.

01:31After that we had some traditional weaving and emu feather craft.

01:36They've now been taught how to do it and they'll be able to go away from here and continue with

01:40that art and teach it to someone else.

01:43Those are the sorts of ties that we want to make with our people that are here at the camp

01:48now so they can carry that culture on themselves.

01:51I think Matt when he does his emu feathers and his weaving and telling his story with the importance

02:00of technique and art and creativity and it's so important to be able to provide that art.

02:10Our generations past our elders have taught that.

02:14You know Matthew was taught by elders that have come to this camp when he was younger and that's how he knows how to do it.

02:22I'm just so grateful to be able to continue on this tradition of being in this place.

02:31It does mean a lot to me and passing that knowledge on and our culture on to our kids means even more.

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