The magic of nature in an urban setting, with layers of history that stretch back to the deep past. The Mullum Mullum Valley, a precious coalition of green wedges on the outskirts of Melbourne, comprises some of the larger and better preserved areas of remnant bushland within an outer urban environment. Rich in biodiversity and ecological values, these little green ‘oases’ provide a home for native plants and habitat for wildlife and also, for visitors, a sense of peace and a welcome refuge from the pace and demands of modern life. A place to press the ‘pause’ or ‘reset’ buttons, to slow down and enjoy the natural environment and all that it offers. A chance to connect to country.
The Mullum Mullum Creek Valley is made up of different parks and reserves, each with their own character. There are many places that allow visitors to take time out and simply enjoy the natural environment.
The Mullum Mullum Festival, now in its 18th year, is an annual event, held in either Autumn or Spring, celebrating the biodiversity and the ecological and cultural values of the Mullum Mullum Creek Valley. The Festival features a range of guided walks, talks and activities, held over two successive weekends. The 2018 Festival was hosted in the lead up to National Reconciliation Week, providing opportunities to learn more about Indigenous culture and history, as well as the local environment and its flora and fauna. Continue reading “The Mullum Mullum Festival – Celebrating Biodiversity and Wurundjeri Culture”→
‘Caring for country’ is at the heart of indigenous cultures across the world. Since ancient times, their careful observation, understanding and respect for the land, and their intimate knowledge of the seasons and cycles of nature has generally resulted in communities that have lived in harmony with their environment and with the earth’s natural life support systems. There remains much that we can learn from such traditional practices and knowledge bases. Especially at a time when the world is seeking more sustainable ways of operating in the bid to address the significant environmental and social challenges that we face, including the spectre of climate change.
Learning from the past.
Planning for the future.
This month the UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was commemorated (on 9 August) with the theme of ‘Education’. The UN used this global event to highlight the right to education, recognized under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Attention was drawn to the disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous students in terms of access to education, school retention and graduation rates in all regions of the world. This is certainly reflected in Australia.
The ‘UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples’ – shining a light on the knowledge, richness and diversity of indigenous cultures.
Sharing Knowledge and Learning From Each Other
On the theme of ‘education’, there is also much that non-indigenous people can learn from our indigenous elders, brothers and sisters. In Australia, this learning extends to broadening our understanding about how indigenous people managed to live on this dry continent sustainably, for 60,000 plus years, working in sync with the climatic conditions, the diversity of environments and the indigenous plants and animals that co-existed here. And this was not just, as common notions would have it, in the role of simple hunter-gatherers.
Indigenous writer, Bruce Pascoe, author of ‘Dark Emu, Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?’
The First Peoples of Australia not only had rich social and cultural lives, they also developed quite intricate indigenous economies – with established trade routes and food systems that included not just wild harvesting but the domestication and cultivation of important plants, including native grains and yams, the evolution of firestick farming, the creation of eel and fish traps and the careful management of water resources. Some of the best accounts of this have been uncovered in the journals and records of the early European explorers and settlers, who documented their first encounters with Aboriginal groups in different parts of Australia.
Bruce Pascoe and his wife, Lyn Harwood ,at the Lake Bolac Eel Festival in western Victoria.
Indigenous researcher and author, Bruce Pascoe, describes this early aboriginal culture in considerable detail and highlights the type of economies and communities that existed at the time of first contact, in his book Dark Emu, Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident? The stories within its chapters, drawn from a range of historical records, reveal diverse communities, dotted across the continent, bearing all the hallmarks of so-called ‘civilised society’ – including the construction of semi-permanent and permanent dwellings, the selection and cultivation of plants and the preserving and storing of surplus food supplies.
Bruce Pascoe’s insightful and thought provoking book ‘Dark Emu, Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?’
Connecting to country is something we can all do.
Wattle seeds can be ground up to make a somewhat nutty, protein rich alternative to coffee.
Bruce Pascoe points out that there is even archeological evidence of ‘grinding stones’ – tools that were used to grind harvested native grains to bake bread in earth ovens – thousands of years before the ancient Egyptians even came up with the idea!
But is this a source of national pride or a cause for celebration, as Bruce Pascoe believes it should be? Sadly, it is not even widely known. This type of resourceful and creative thinking however, was an integral part of the rich social and cultural life of Aboriginal Australia … but this is not what we learnt about in school. This is not the history that Bruce Pascoe studied at school either – or university – and therefore he didn’t teach it himself when he was a secondary school teacher, prior to becoming a researcher and writer.
Instead, students were generally taught the widely published and accepted version of Australian history – albeit quite a prejudiced and Euro-centric version of history – which inherently discounted the complexity of indigenous society in order to perpetuate the land claim of Terra Nullius – the myth that this land was ‘nobody’s land’, that this country was not being ‘used’ and that the First Peoples did not have a ‘civilised’ society.
Authors Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe presented talks on indigenous land management at the recent Lake Bolac Eel Festival in western Victoria.
Raising Awareness
In the ground-breaking book, The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia (which won a swag of literary and history awards), respected historian and academic, Bill Gammage, details Aboriginal Australia’s skillful land management prior to colonisation. In a nod to the book’s theme and title, Bill Gammage describes how the early European explorers and settlers repeatedly recorded observations about countryside and grasslands that were ‘park-like’, in that they resembled an English gentleman’s park or estate.
Film makers are working on a documentary about Bill Gammage’s book, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia’.
As James Boyce writes, in a review in The Monthly, the comparison made by early settlers was far closer to expressing the full truth than their cultural blinkers would allow them to see. The Aborigines were indeed managing an estate that, despite a focus on local action, stretched the breadth of the continent. He writes: “… in 1788 there was no wilderness, but a landscape that reflected a sophisticated, successful and sensitive farming regime integrated across the Australian landmass. Fire was not an indiscriminate tool of fuel reduction or grass promotion, but carefully employed to ensure certain plants and animals flourished, to facilitate access and rotation, and to ensure resources were abundant, convenient and predictable.”
Learning about indigenous practices, like the use of food, fibre and medicine plants, keeps these practices alive and ensures that the knowledge is passed on between generations.
Thanks to the work of researchers and writers like Bruce Pascoe and Bill Gammage, we are learning more about the richness of Aboriginal Australia that existed at the time of European contact. That is, before indigenous people were rounded up and moved on to missions, forbidden from harvesting their bushfoods or carrying out their ceremonies and cultural practices. In many ways it is a wonder that this rich and ancient culture has survived. But survive it has and there is now a real resurgence of interest and a growing appreciation and respect for indigenous ways of caring for country and caring for people. There is much we can learn.
Bill Gammage signs a copy of his ground-breaking book ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia’.Acknowledging and respecting Australia’s indigenous roots.
An Inspiration for Permaculture
The early co-founders of permaculture, Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, recognised the insight and wisdom within the land management practices of indigenous people, both here and overseas. They undertook broad-ranging research and experimentation as they developed their principles of permaculture in the 1970s, and they drew inspiration from the Australian Aborigines’ traditional respect for and connection to country and their environmentally sensitive ways of life. Mollison and Holmgren’s permaculture methodology for sustainable land management, food production and social interaction has since grown in popularity both in Australia and around the world. And its evolution continues today, as the permutations of permaculture are applied on a personal, domestic and community level, as well as in regenerative agriculture and broader scale projects of a more commercial nature.
Permaculture co-founder and educator, David Holmgren, guides students on a tour of his property, Melliodora, in Hepburn Springs, Victoria.
Land Cultures: Aboriginal Economies and Permaculture Futures
In April this year, David Holmgren and Bruce Pascoe teamed up to share their insights about sustainable land management, from their indigenous and permaculture perspectives. In an evening forum at the Daylesford Town Hall, they gave presentations on the topic of Land Cultures: Aboriginal Economies and Permaculture Futures. A documentary film featuring this event, along with Bruce Pascoe’s book readings at the local library and planting of bushfoods in the local community garden, has just been released (available on You Tube and embedded at the end of this post). Produced by Anthony Petrucci and Patrick Jones (permaculture advocate, author and member of Artist as Family), it is a lovely visual record of this special series of events and provides a nice way to tune in to the conversations for those who could not attend in person.
Trent Nelson performs a traditional Jaara smoking ceremony outside the Daylesford Town Hall.
The Evening Forum in Daylesford
Guests for the forum on Land Cultures: Aboriginal Economies and Permaculture Futures gathered outside the Daylesford Town Hall for a local Dja Dja Wurrung ‘welcome to country’. The aromatic smell of smouldering native leaves drifted into the night air, as part of a traditional Jaara smoking ceremony.
Local Dja Dja Wurrung elder, Graham Atkinson, conducts a ‘welcome to country’.
It was a nice way to commence the evening, being warmly welcomed by representatives of the local indigenous people, before being invited inside the cosy heritage town hall, to hear about ways of caring for land – from an indigenous as well as permaculture perspective. There is a good synergy in many ways, between these two approaches. The hallmarks of both centre around careful observation and care of the land, and respect for country and the environment that supports and sustains us and other living creatures and ecological systems. The common ground extends, in essence, to working with nature through the use of sustainable practices.
A good turnout and a full house at the Daylesford Town Hall.
It was a good turnout and all of the balconies were filled inside the Town Hall, with guests from far and wide joining together with locals to hear these two elders of permaculture and indigenous affairs speak. Great food for thought!
Bruce Pascoe shares some stories drawn from the journals of the early explorers.
Bruce Pascoe is a born storyteller and David Holmgren a thoughtful permaculture pioneer. Together, they opened up the space for the valuable sharing of knowledge and stories and the exploration of ideas. Nice to see blackfella dreaming and whitefella dreaming finding common ground, behind the mic and within the assembled audience at large (which now extends to include a ‘virtual’ audience with the release of the film). A key theme was on recognising and healing the past and working together to explore possibilities and pathways for co-creating a more sustainable, equitable and fulfilling future. Learning from the past and planning for the future.
Bruce Pascoe answers questions from the floor. (Photo: Patrick Jones, Lyn Harwood, Bruce Pascoe, David Holmgren and Su Dennett)
In keeping with the spirit of the occasion, refreshing lemon myrtle tea and nourishing wattleseed chai provided a nice way to wrap up the evening, before guests headed back out into the night, passing through the cleansing smoke once again as they embarked upon their journeys home.
Lighting the fire.
Passing through the cleansing smoke on the way out.
Land Cultures: Aboriginal Economies and Permaculture Futures – a documentary film produced by Anthony Petrucci and Patrick Jones (Artist as Family) … Enjoy!
Further Information:
David Holmgren – Permaculture co-founder and educator
Artist as Family – Producers (with Anthony Petrucci) of the documentary film onLand Cultures: Aboriginal Economies and Permaculture Futures(embedded at the end of this post)
Art is an important aspect of indigenous culture that continues to grow in popularity.
NAIDOC Week is an annual event that focuses attention on the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and the valuable contributions that indigenous people make to this country. It provides a chance for all of us to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Australia’s First People. It also provides an opportunity to reflect upon our shared history.
Creating a hand print.
Today’s descendants of the original inhabitants of this country are part of the oldest continuously living culture on earth. This connection stretches back 60,000+ years, to the ancestors of the past and it also provides a living link to the future. At this point in time, indigenous and non-indigenous Australians are being called upon to walk a path of healing together, towards greater reconciliation, and to enter into discussions about the prospect of a long overdue Treaty with this nation’s First People. It is all about walking that road together.
Indigenous artist, Darryl Black, shows 11 year old Jamie van Wensveen how to create a contemporary hand print – not unlike the ones originally painted on cave walls using ochre pigments.
NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’ – an acronym for the group responsible for organising NAIDOC activities and events – and the national week for celebrating indigenous culture has retained this name. Held in the first full week of July, the origins of NAIDOC Week can be traced back to the 1920s and the emergence of Aboriginal groups which sought to increase awareness in the wider community about the status and treatment of indigenous Australians.
NAIDOC Week provides an opportunity to learn about indigenous culture.
In the early 1900s, fledgling Aboriginal rights groups had started to boycott ‘Australia Day’ (26 January) in protest against the treatment of Indigenous Australians. On Australia Day in 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney, followed by a congress attended by over a thousand people. Known as the ‘Day of Mourning’, this was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world. There was a growing feeling that this day of demonstration should become a regular event.
From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day and it became known as ‘Aborigines Day’. In 1955 Aborigines Day was shifted to the first Sunday in July after it was decided that the day should become not simply a day of protest but also a celebration of Aboriginal culture.
This year, the national theme for NAIDOC Week (3-10 July) is Songlines – The living narrative of our nation. As for previous years, a national poster competition was held, inviting artists to submit entries represening their interpretation of the chosen theme. This year’s winner of the prestigious National NAIDOC Poster Competition is Lani Balzan, a proud Wiradjuri Aboriginal woman from Illawara, NSW.
Ms Balzan received a $5,000 cash prize and her artwork, titled: Songlines Tie All Aboriginal People Together, is featured on the National NAIDOC Poster, distributed across the country to promote NAIDOC Week 2016. Ms Balzan’s artwork represents all of the Songlines coming together to create our nation. You can see how they criss-cross the land as they run East, West, North, South and diagonally across the country to track the journeys of the ancestors.
Artist, Darryl Black, who is also an indigenous cultural guide on eco-tours in Queensland, works on series of paintings inspired by the native wildlife that he encounters up north.
As part of NAIDOC Week, diverse celebrations and activities are being held across Australia – from remote and regional communities to urban and metropolitan centres. If you have the chance to take part, the opportunity to learn more about indigenous culture, music, stories and artwork, and to connect with local indigenous people is well worthwhile.
Dot work and detail on a painting of a cassowary.
‘Australians United’ – an artwork by Darryl Black, showing interconnecting Songlines.
Further Information:
NAIDOC Week 3-10 July 2016.
To find out more about events and celebrations in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements, visit the NAIDOC website or Facebook page. As part of an open invitation to take part, all Australians are welcome and encouraged to learn, share and participate together. NAIDOC week provides an opportunity for Australians of all ages to discover more about the oldest living continuing culture on the planet.
Like many organisations, the network of local and national ABC Television and Radio stations is also supporting NAIDOC Week, presenting a broad range of features on indigenous Australians during the week-long celebrations.
SBSTelevision and its NITV(National Indigenous Television) channel will also be broadcasting a series of NAIDOC related stories. NITV, being a channel made by, for and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, has the ongoing role of sharing indigenous stories 365 days a year!
Tess Holderness - Photojournalist 