Reconciliation Week

This year the theme for Reconciliation Week was Be a voice for generations. Our Reconciliation week activities were planned by our Reconciliation team – Taylah, Claire, Gabrielle, Brianna, Cole and Logan.  Bairnsdale Secondary College celebrated Reconciliation week with a Smoking Ceremony.

Clare started the proceedings with an Acknowledgement to Country.  College Captains discussed the theme for reconciliation – Be a voice for generations. This statement calls us to speak up about the importance of culture and heritage, and the unquestionable challenges which have been overcome, and continue to be overcome by indigenous Australians.  Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that reminds us that while generations of Australians have fought for meaningful change, future gains are likely to take just as much effort, if not more.

Tayla and Gracie introduced the Possum Skin Cloak which is kept at our College in the Girls at the Centre room.  The Possum Skin Cloak was at one point an everyday item for Koorie people, starting off with one pelt as a newborn, increasing over time with more pelts added, growing with the individual until it was adult sized.  The cloak was used for lots of different purposes:

• For keeping the wearer warm.
• For sleeping in.
• Being worn in ceremonies.
• In some communities the cloak was and is still used for spiritual healing.

The Possum Skin cloak will be used by Year 12 Koorie students at their graduation ceremony.  This signifies their educational achievements and becoming an adult in their community.

The cloak represents the following and further designs will be added by our Year 12 graduating students:

• The fur side is the land on the edges and the river in the middle.
• The image represents growth.
  • The seed represents the students starting their secondary journey.
  • The tree is students growing throughout their secondary journey.
  • The branch is the students going in different directions during their secondary journey.
  • The shield represents both male and female.

During the ceremony the Reconciliation team displayed artefacts such as a boomerang, spears and a shield which have been moved from the Wallace Street Campus to their new home in the Wurrin building.

Thank you to our Reconciliation team and a special thanks to Aunty Sandra who conducted the smoking ceremony and spoke about the importance of the ceremony and provided some local history.