Blog

Artists play their hand for community facing waste dump

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:22:00 GMT

Artists play their hand for community facing waste dump

The Cardshow is an exhibition and fundraiser bringing 58 Australian artists together in one pack of cards.

The artist, including Reg Mombassa, Susan Norrie aand Simon Yates, were dealt a playing casrd and given licence to reproduce the card in any medium, with strict or fluid interpretation. The Cardshow is made up of the resulting 58 eclectic pieces.

“The decks of cards are affordable take-home collections of 56 extraordinary artworks” says organiser Tessa Dowdell.

“This exhibition and the decks of cards show a strong community response from artists in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania to the imposition of nuclear waste on Aboriginal land at Muckaty Station, NT.”

“The Cardshow has allows priminent, local and grassroots artist to respon to the threat of nuclear waste in art-ivism and aesthetic flair,” says Tessa Dowdell.

The Cardshow is a not-for-profit production, with all proceeds going to Muckaty Traditional Owners and to the campaign against a proposed nuclear waste dump on their country.

Other artis include Linda Dement, Jacqueline Olivertty, Neil Tomkins and renowned street artists Akisiew, Bunkwaa and Hazzy Bee.

The Cardshow – 58 Artists, One Deck of Cards.

www.thecardshow.org

EVENT: Appin Massacre Memorial Ceremony, Sunday 15 April 2012

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:09:00 GMT

All welcome to this annual event to remember the Dharawal people killed in the massacre of 1816.

Date: Sunday 15 April 2012

Location: Cataract Dam Picnic Area, Appin

Time: 12pm - 3.30pm

A sausage sizzle lunch will be provided

For further information contact:

Aunty Muriel Brandy - 9605 4540

Uncle Ivan Wellington - 0447 581 306

Sr Kerry -9605 1838

Ann Madsen - 4647 7324

Hosted by the Winga Myamly Reconciliation Group and supported by the Campbelltown City Council, Wollonfilly Shire Council, Sydney Catchment Authority, W.I.L.M.A, the NSW Reconciliation Council and the Aboriginal Communities of the Macarthur Region.

Please note:

The memorial ceremony involves a short walk to the site. Appropriate footwear, hats, sunscreen and bottled water are recommended. As the site has limited seating available, please feel free to bring your own fold up chairs.

The event will take place regardless of weather conditions.

About the Appin massacre of 1816:

In 1816, governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered the military to apprehend all Aboriginal people in the southern districts and the Harwskury because of the increasing attacks on settlers. Any Aboriginal people who resisted were to be shot and the bodies of the men hung from trees as an example to the others. Any women and children killed were to been buried. A regiment was sent to the Macarthur area, to round up the local Aboriginal people. After following a few rumoured sightings, they received word that many local Aborigines were camping in Cataract Gorge. The regiment attacked by night and, according to the regiment's own account, only two women and three children survived. The rest were shot or jumped to their deaths over the gorge's cliffs.

The Appin massacre is traditionally remembered as the annihilation of the Aboriginal people in the Macarthur area. Some of the local population did survive, remaining in areas where settlers maintained more friendly contact with them. In 1845, the magistrate in Campbelltown reported that the few remaining Aboriginal people in his area had died out due to natural causes, while the magistrate at Picton reported only 67 Aboriginal people in his area.

EVENT: Raising the Koori Flag at Gibbergunyah Reserve - 14 April 2012

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:20:00 GMT

Commencing in 2002, a “Raising the Koori Flag” ceremony has been held in April each year at nin garang thurree currobung (The Place Between the Rocks) near Cherry Tree rest area in Gibbergunyah Reserve, to commemorate that this land is and forever will be the spiritual home of the traditional owners, the Gundungurra people.

“Friends of Gibbergunyah”, families and friends, are invited to participate in a Flag Raising ceremony on Saturday 14th of April at around 3pm. Please bring your own refreshments if you wish. From here, there are short trails to the Gundungurra Lookout with extensive views across the Gundungurra lands. Once again this year at around 4.00pm we will attempt a mirror flash to Katoomba. Aunty Carol Cooper and friends from the Rural Fire Service and the Blue Mountains People for Reconciliation will be at the Carrington Hotel to receive our signal and to flash to us across the Gundungurra lands.

This will be the 10th Anniversary of this ceremony and we look forward to a special event this year. At the suggestion of Aunty Val Mulcahy and the Wingecarribee Aboriginal Advisory Committee a plaque is being unveiled to on this occasion to commemorate Arthur Beasley OAM, who initiated this Annual Koori Flagraising Ceremony.

Each year we extend a welcome to any Gundungurra and all other Koori people, and to all others who share the goal of reconciliation who might wish to participate in the ceremony. To get to nin garang thurree currobung please proceed to the entrance to the Reserve at Boronia St and walk towards Cherry Tree rest area on the Gang Gang Track. (Approximately 2 kms walk time one hour comfortably on fire trails.) A guide will leave from here around 2.00pm. Alternatively proceed to the Howards Lane, Welby entrance, past Howards Lane Vineyard and walk to Cherry Tree rest area. (Approximately 1 km, 40 minutes walk time (initially somewhat steep fire trail then levelling out.) Maps will be available. For people who may have difficulty with the walk in a bus will be able to take people from the Boronia St car park to nin garang thurree currobung and return. Please contact kim.leevers@gmail.com or phone 0409463123 if you require a lift.

Mirror flash to Katoomba

Jarrah Acknowledges Country

Ryde Public School gets creative

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 03:16:00 GMT

These students have been busy working on their Schools Reconciliation Challenge entries!

The competition closes on the 5th of April, and students across NSW have been responding to the question: What does Our Place look like?

Ryde PS students said:

We have a group of 19 year 5 and 6 students participating in a workshop.

We have been working hard on our creations for a few weeks now and have decided on what we want our artworks to look like. Now we are putting them together.

We have been enjoying the workshops and we look forward to sending our completed entries into the competition.

You can find out more about the Schools Reconciliation Challenge here

Flying the Flag

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:06:00 GMT

NSWRC has launched its campaign calling for the Aboriginal flag to be a permanent feature on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sydney Harbour receives around 3 million international visitors every year many of whom are genuinely interested in Aboriginal culture.

The Australian, New South Welsh, and Aboriginal flags flying side by side symbolises the necessary partnership between Australia and its original peoples and fosters the process of reconciliation.

Flying the Aboriginal flag on one of Australia's biggest icons, not only acknowledges Traditional Land Owners, but offers the potential to develop national pride. The Aboriginal flag is a simple way to recognise the status of Aboriginal people and their contribution to Australia.

Do you think the flag should fly on the Harbour Bridge?

Join our Facebook page here.

Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Co-op closure imminent

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:09:00 GMT

Please take the time to show your support and solidarity for this wonderful organisation by joining them in their walk to petition its closure. The march will take place on Friday the 4th December, meeting at 10am at the fountain in Hyde Park. Supporters will be walking to the New South Wales Parliament House to hand deliver a petition. Don't have time to walk? Sign the petition online

Operating since 1987, Boomalli Aboriginal Artist Co-op is amongst Australia's longest running Aboriginal operated art galleries. Responsible for fostering dynamic and sustainable indigenous visual art, Boomalli has provided a creative outlet for self determined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island artists.

NSWRC Launches Book Yarn!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:31:00 GMT

Today the NSW Reconciliation Council launches its new book club: Book Yarn

The book club will meet on the first Tuesday of every month to discuss books related to reconciliation.

Book Yarn will also run a monthly online forum on each book to allow members from all over the State to join the conversation and share their thoughts.

The first book to be read and discussed is Home by Larissa Behrendt.

Larissa is the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year. She is also Professor of Law and the Director of Research at Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS. She is a Eualeyai/Kamillaroi woman. Larissa has authored several books on Indigenous legal issues and in 2002 she won the David Uniapon Award and in 2005 the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for her novel Home. She is also a keynote speaker at the NSW Reconciliation Conference 2009.

"Home is Garibooli's story, but is also the story of a family and of a people. Author Larissa Behrendt uses it to humanise the impact of the segregation and oppression of Aboriginal people in Australia. She does this very powerfully. The reader is drawn in to Garibooli's struggle to synthesise her past and her present, and to her children's struggles after they are abandoned by their father following Garibooli's death." (Sally Murphy - Aussiereviews.com)

The first meeting of Book Yarn will be on Tuesday 1st December from 7:00pm at NSWRC Offices in Glebe.

Join the movement and become an online member now so you can be a part of Book Yarn and access the Forum and other resources.

Become a member now and you could win a copy of Home signed by Larissa Behrendt!

One lucky person who becomes an online member of the NSW Reconciliation Council will win the prize drawn on the 20th Novermber 2009. Become a member now and start having a yarn about Home.

NSWRC harnessing the power of technology for reconciliation

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:14:00 GMT

Technology is creating new opportunities for reconciliation in NSW.

Online communities are influencing the real world in ways previously thought impossible.

The power of online community building and campaigning was made clear by the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. Online technologies contributed to Americans putting an African-American in the Whitehouse years before anyone thought it would be possible. It is time for Australians to harness the same technologies to make change in our own communities.

NSW Reconciliation Council is taking advantage of the internet to develop an online presence that will significantly advance reconciliation in NSW.

The new NSWRC website and associated Social Media sites (including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and YouTube) will build online and offline networks, facilitate conversations and dialogue, raise awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues, history and culture, encourage the sharing of stories and keep local people informed.

The NSWRC website provides a space where people from all over the State can share ideas and mobilise. It is a place where people can come to converse and engage in dialogue about reconciliation and issues affecting local communities. The internet allows people to connect irrespective of their location. NSWRC is harnessing this power to help people from around the State communicate and build a grassroots movement for reconciliation.

For the website to be successful, people need to get involved, connect with others and contribute content. The online community will then flourish and turn into real community action where individuals and groups can influence relationships and create opportunities for reconciliation in towns and cities around NSW.

It is important people join the movement and become online members. Becoming a member of the NSWRC website and associated Social Media sites is a great way to network, stay informed, share information, learn, converse and find out how, where and when to take action to achieve reconciliation.

While the website is a tool for people to connect, it is also a rich resource full of up-to-date information about news, events, activities and opportunities.

Members of the NSWRC have been very eager to see the new website go live. A focus of the website is also to highlight the work of Local Reconciliation Groups (LRG) and showcase their actions, events and activities. Each LRG has its own page on the website where people can find out what their local groups are doing.

The website has 10 main sections:

What is reconciliation? – Answers basic questions about reconciliation and gives overview of the movement.

News and Events – Up-to-date news and events in NSW related to reconciliation and Indigenous issues.

Local Reconciliation Groups – Over 60 groups with their own individual pages.

Campaigns and Projects – NSWRC campaigns and projects that you can support and get involved in.

Sharing Stories – People sharing their reconciliation stories and experiences.

Conversations – Blog and Forum where people can connect, converse, contribute to and develop the reconciliation dialogue.

Resources – Access a wide range of video, audio and written resources.

Opportunities – Links to grants, jobs, scholarships, internships and volunteer opportunities in NSW.

Youth – A section focused on youth projects, competitions and resources.

Members – People can join the movement online giving you access to specialised members section, which includes discussion forums.

I encourage everybody in NSW to check out the site, browse the resources, connect with others and Join the Peoples Movement for Reconciliation!