Kildare Ministries Student Seminar

On Monday 22 May, six of my fellow Year 10 Student Leaders and I travelled to Echuca for the second Kildare Ministries Student Seminar of 2023, along with students and staff from Killester College in Springvale and Marian College in Sunshine West.

The seminar was designed to help Social Justice Student Leaders prepare for Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week. It was an interesting journey up to Echuca. Two hours into the trip, our tyre burst and we were stranded on a roadside property for almost four hours, something that none of us could ever have predicted! We eventually arrived and settled into Billabong Ranch in Echuca, where we were briefed on the activities for the following day and treated to a delicious campfire stew.

On Tuesday, we traveled to Barmah National Park, where we had an immersive experience with the park’s First Nations rangers on Yorta Yorta country. We had a pizza lunch at the Port of Echuca then walked to St Joseph’s College, where we were introduced to the Living Justice Portrait Project. Two artists, Alisha Ryan and Troy Firebrace (a Yorta Yorta man) had consulted and collaborated on three portraits combining the most prominent Brigidine and Kildare Ministries figures – Saint Brigid, Nano Nagle and Daniel Delany – with First Nations stories. The artworks are rich in First Nations cultural symbolism, full of stories, and encouraged us to reflect on how sacred and beautiful Country is, together with how Daniel, Nano and Brigid lived their lives with Strength and Kindliness. The students of St Joseph’s also showed us their Elders Portrait Project, where each painting depicted a different Elder and the symbols that represent their lives and experiences. We also had an opportunity to speak with Aunty Donna Walsh, an Elder who has worked closely with St Joseph’s for many years and she shared her experiences of growing up as a First Nations child.

The seminar was engaging and educational, and helped many of us to reflect on how important Country and identity are for First Nations people and their culture. We were able to immerse ourselves in this culture by walking on Country and learning the experiences of the Yorta Yorta people, past and present. My fellow students and I look forward to the next seminars in the years to come.

I would like to thank Mrs Moloney for encouraging each of us to have a new experience, for driving the bus and for looking after us when we were stuck on the side of the road.

Annabelle Chapman
Year 10

Reconciliation Week 2023

The dates for National Reconciliation Week are the same each year – 27 May to 3 June.

These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.

27 May 1967 – On this day, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90% of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census.

3 June 1992 – On this day, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title.

Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

At the College, we commenced Reconciliation Week with a paraliturgy  in the Hall. Red, yellow and black ribbons were also given out and worn by the students. Our choir sang a beautiful rendition of “We are Australian” and members of our community, whose ancestors were part of the Stolen Generation, joined in the readings and prayers.

Throughout the week there have been a number of activities on offer at lunchtime for students to be involved in that enriches understanding of Indigenous culture. Decorating the stenciled images of Bunjil, the Wedge Tailed Eagle, on the concrete in the Flagpole area was popular. Bunjil is the Bunurong creator of the mountains, rivers and sea. Students also learnt the art of weaving, whilst enjoying a screening of “The Sapphires”.

Trish Moloney
Living Justice Coordinator