Koorie Club News
In recent news, Sky News Business Editor Edward Boyd has travelled to Rio Tinto’s Gudai-Darri mine in Western Australia to see the corporation’s newest technologically advanced mine. This is the first trip to Rio Tinto since the Juukan Gorge scandal which was when 46,000-year-old aboriginal shelters were blown up by the company in 2020. The traditional owners of Pilbara have since signed a deal to create renewable energy projects on their land. This agreement is a milestone towards the development of sustainable energy development on Yindjibarndi Ngurra.
Also, in the realm of Sky News host Caleb Bond delivered the news that a major housing development in Adelaide’s north has been halted due to the discovery of Aboriginal bones. According to Bond, this is a $3 Billion dollar project which is set to have 12,000 homes and 40,00 people after it is completed over the next 20 years. It took Land Walker (property developer) sixteen years to get the project off the ground however in July, the remains of at least twenty-nine people were found. The Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation has since been brought in to oversee the site while the remains were investigated. Hopefully, this presents a new opportunity to learn about Aboriginal history while unfortunately having some ripple effects.
Sports News:
In the world of netball, Donnell Wallam will be returning to the green and gold line-up after her debut season with the Australian Diamonds national team. The 2023 South Africa Series kicked off on Wednesday the twenty-fifth of October. Good luck to our diamonds!!
Moving into a different sport, the Kaurna Boomerangs hockey team has begun a program designed to have Indigenous teams play each other. The teams are made up of at-risk Indigenous children who are taught to channel their energy into sport. This is a great concept and prevention method to help children channel pent-up energy elsewhere.
Also, in the world of sport Indigenous football player Liam Henry age 22 has made to move to the Saints after St Kilda sent its future second-round and fourth-picks to the Dockers (Freemantle).
https://diamonds.netball.com.au/news/origin-diamonds-south-africa-series-team-named
Schoolwide updates:
Our Koorie Club and St Helena student leaders’ team will be engaging in an Indigenous mural at SHSC soon. Our guiding artist will be Simone Thomson who is a Wurundjeri/Yorta-Yorta Aboriginal Artist who is based in Naarm Melbourne. Her artworks are thoughtful and vibrant, she draws inspiration through her connection to the land and waterways. We are very excited to host Simone at our school and get involved with the team!
Didge ya know?
Nowadays, you might have your favourite t shirt whether it be big or small, red, or blue, but did you know Aboriginal Mob made clothes before there was access to sewing Machines? An item that was used the most was a possum skin cloak!
Cloaks were an important item because they were used as a source of warmth when turned inside out (fur on the inside), they acted as water-proofers that kept mob dry and warm during periods of rain. Cloaks were also hard to make as they required 40-70 individual skins to make a full-sized cloak.
Our cloaks could also be used as bedding and blankets to keep warm and some mobs like Wurundjeri (Where SHSC is located) used them in ceremonies to make a beat like that of a drum.
These cloaks were usually worn from a young age and made up of only a few pelts that would be added as the child grew. The pelts were sewn together very neatly using sinews from a kangaroo’s tail.
From: https://www.vacca.org/
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Koorie Club Leaders.
Rachel Aden (Koorie Club Leader) – ADE0010@sthelena.vic.edu.au
Jamie Humphries (Koorie Club Leader) – HUM0004@sthelena.vic.edu.au