Year 7 News 

Murnong Day

The Murnong Daisy which was once a very common plant, has become endangered since colonisation. To many Aboriginal people, it is not just a plant but a symbol of Australian culture. There are centuries of knowledge wrapped up in the Murnong. This is why MGC is trying to restore this priceless symbol.

On Friday, the 28th of July, we had MGC’s annual Murnong Day. The day started with a special assembly where Auntie Di, an Aboriginal Elder, introduced us to her welcoming ceremony culture. The welcoming ceremony, also known as the smoking ceremony, was held when Aboriginals from a group wanted to enter the land of a different tribe. This ceremony usually takes 3 to 5 days and is meant to cleanse your spirit. We had a little smoking ceremony of our own where put in gum leaves in the fire as we walked through the smoke. As Auntie Di told us, this act of putting gum leaves in the fire means that ‘we will journey together’.

Each of the year 7 classes had their own time allocated for planting. When it was our turn, we went outside into the native plants garden. We were introduced to Murnong Gabe who showed us the correct way to plant the saplings. We had to first dig a hole deep enough to accommodate the roots of the plant. Then we gently eased the plant out of its pot and into the hole. We then got a flat stone where we wrote the name of the plant, which in my case was Kangaroo Grass, and then our name. Overall it was an exciting day. We got a chance to learn about a most interesting culture and had lots of fun planting the saplings which will flourish over the years, bringing with it a part of Australian culture.

Arushi Sen Chaudhuri

7M2