Echuca Camp  

KEM First Nations Immersion Camp Echuca 2024

Monday May 13 started with five students – Mikayla, Ruby, Kendra, Alison and Charlotte as well as Kim Dixon (teacher) gathering with anticipation and excitement in the Sr Louise Cleary building. The school bus headed out to Melbourne Airport  where we gathered together with students and staff that had flown in from Brigidine College St. Ives (NSW) and Kildare College Holden Hill (SA). We then boarded a bus with students and teachers from Kilbreda College Mentone and Killester College Springvale and headed towards Echuca.

We arrived at our accommodation at Billabong Ranch in Echuca around 4:30 pm and students and staff from Clonard College Geelong and St Joseph’s College Echuca also arrived. After dinner we watched the documentary ‘In My Blood It Runs’ then it was time for lights out.

Tuesday started with A Walk on Country in the Barmah National Park. Yorta Yorta women, Greta and Hilda from Parks Victoria, explained about traditional ways that their people ensured the land and waterways were maintained for tens of thousands of years before white settlement. We leant about totem animals, middens, care and nurturing of animals and plants and how various grinding stones were used to grind and crush different materials. 

We then moved to St Joseph’s College for a shared lunch and then learnt about The Elders Project. We returned to Billabong Ranch where we had the privilege of Aunty Donna and Aunty Denise showing us their basket weaving, teaching us how to weave and telling us their stories of growing up. Aunty Denise explained how Aboriginal students were kept in a separate classroom to non-Aboriginal students.

Wednesday morning began with packing and cleaning up. After breakfast we had a thoughtful meditation and liturgy on the Echuca Wharf with the sun shining brightly and the river very still. Then we headed home with more knowledge and understanding of life for Aboriginal People past and present, new friendships and thoughts of how we can add our voice to reconciliation and Australian history. We are very grateful for this opportunity provided to us.