Cultural News

New - NAIDOC Week

During the school holidays we celebrate NAIDOC week around Australia.

There are events organised to celebrate this year’s theme - For Our Elders.

There is a NAIDOC Flag Raising Ceremony on the July 3rd and a Family Day on the 6th July.

If any of our families would like to participate in attending events organised by Rumbalara 

you are welcome to register online -

https://rumbalara.org.au/events/

Reconciliation Week Wrap Up

We had a jam-packed week at St Mary’s during Reconciliation Week.

Our FIRE Carriers shared why we have Reconciliation Week and then they shared a video during Assembly about the need to stand up against racism.

Children learnt more about the need to learn the truth about what has occurred in our history to aboriginal people, especially in our area. The Gr 1/2s walked to The Flats and learnt about the walk off at Cummeragunja Mission on 4th of February 1939 and how people resettled along the river which is now known as The Flats. They learnt that during floods, the people’s homes were ruined and they had to live up at Daish’s paddock, which is now known as Kidstown, until they could return to The Flats. They also learnt about putting hessian along the Moooroopna/Shepparton Causeway when the Queen came to visit in 1954. When she drove past and asked why the road was covered with hessian. She was upset and wrote back to tell the government of the time to organise homes for the people. 

This is why Rumbalara came to be. 

On Thursday 1st June the FIRE Carriers, Mr Butts and Mrs Dyke went to Nathalia to attend the Mass for Healing and Justice which was celebrated by Bishop Shane.

Our students were involved in the Mass. Budd Haig and Jessica Newson read Prayers of the Faithful and Savannah Hooker was part of the opening procession with our school message stick. Some of our students who have been learning didgerioo this year, Jayden Atkinson, Noah Woods and Zar Thomas, were also part of the band to play the song “Treaty”. It was a lovely Mass to acknowledge past hurts and a road towards reconciliation.

On Friday 2nd of June, we had a Reconciliation Breakfast with our Indigenous families. Aunty Ella spoke to us about her life.  We also had our didgeridoo boys, Jayden Atkinson and Zar Thomas, play some of the didgeridoo music for our parents and students who attended.

Aunty Ella also visited the Yr 5/6 students to share her stories with them. Aunty Ella was born at the Cummeragunja Mission and then later grew up living at The Flats. She went to school in Mooroopna. She shared stories of being teased at school and not being allowed to play with her friends at their house because she was black. She has a love of country and she shared how she often likes to go looking for rocks, especially those that have ochre inside that her son likes to use for painting. 

Finally the Gr 5/6 students went last week to Rumbalara. They met with Aunty Cheryl and Uncle Lance to learn about the homes that were erected for the aboriginal people to live in. 

There is now only one left. Every time there was a flood, the homes were damaged. There was also some tin huts to show what types of homes were build down at The Flats. The tin was collected at the tip, which is now Kidstown. The children got to touch artifacts such as possum skin, emu eggs and coolamons. The 5/6s learnt so much about what life was like for many of our Yorta Yorta elders who lived at Rumbalara or The Flats.

Acknowledgement of Country               

At St Mary’s Primary School Mooroopna we Acknowledge the Traditional people of this land. The Yorta Yorta Nation are the Traditional Custodians of this area and we remember their elders, past, present and future. We remember that the Aboriginal people of Australia will always be the  traditional owners of the land on which we gather today. We continue to grow through education and reconciliation to a better future for all Australians.