Connecting With Country

It has been great to see the importance placed on fostering a relationship with the Wee Waa Local Aboriginal Land Council (WWLALC) since the early stages of planning for the Wee Waa High School redevelopment. 

WWHS has helped facilitate engagement with our students and the broader community to assist the design team as they work towards embedding local Gomeroi knowledge and culture through consultation sessions with local Aboriginal community members, including the Wee Waa Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) and WWLALC. Guided by the principles of the NSW Government’s Connecting with Country framework, the consultation process ensures that the strength, diversity and richness of Gomeroi culture and the connection with Country are respected, valued and embedded throughout the design of the new high school.

The school has been involved in the series of workshops that invite local Gomeroi community and our student representatives to share on the best way to reflect Wee Waa’s Gomeroi heritage in the design. Workshops are facilitated by Katie Moore, a Wiradyuri woman with extensive experience in embedding Indigenous design into building design and in partnering with Aboriginal communities across Australia to empower economic opportunities. The workshops are also attended by the project’s architect SHAC who will work with local Aboriginal community members to incorporate the outcomes into the final design. 

The Connecting with Country consultation process is working in close partnership Wee Waa’s peak Aboriginal Wee Waa Local Aboriginal Land Council (WWLALC).  Chair of the council, Clifford Toomey is pleased with the consultation process stating that “WWLALC and Board members have been kept informed of the project, and each step of the process from the beginning.  The communication and consultation has always been up to date, and we look forward to the completion of the new high school.”  

WWHS Principal, Annabel Doust, has welcomed the process, saying; "It was thought-provoking and rewarding to participate in these workshops and hear first-hand what is important for our Aboriginal students and community, and to see their vision for our new school taking shape. Creating a school that all of our students and community positively identify with, through a process that values and respects the culture, health and wellbeing of Country and its people, will result in an environment that proudly represents the past, the present and the future of our whole community".

Fostering a relationship with the Wee Waa Local Aboriginal Land Council (WWLALC) has been important since the early stages of planning for the Wee Waa High School redevelopment. 

The next Connecting with Country community workshop will take place on Tuesday 17th May 2022 between 5.30pm and 7.30pm. It will be held in the WWHS hall. All members of the community are invited to attend. Please contact the school in 0267954477 to RSVP.