Council News CITY OF WAGGA WAGGA
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2016
Issue 81
Weekly information from us to you
RITUAL: (From left) Wagga Citizen of the Year Joe Williams and Pete Ingram, both local Wiradjuri men conduct the smoking ceremony, with Council Director Environmental and Community Services Janice Summerhayes taking part.
REFLECTION: Local Wiradjuri man Pete Ingram conducted a traditional smoking ceremony at the official unveiling of the Marrambidya Wetland Healing Place, located off Narrung Street. The Healing Place is a location for reflection and rebuilding and was constructed in consultation with local Wiradjuri community members.
HEALING PLACE UNVEILED
Apology Day marked with Wiradjuri space at Marrambidya Wetland A traditional smoking ceremony marked the official unveiling of the Marrambidya Wetland Healing Place on the eighth anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generation. The Healing Place has been constructed in consultation with the local Wiradjuri community and features native plants, a seating area and totem pole with hand
carvings, representing a long journey and featuring a goanna – the Wiradjuri totem. The totem pole was created by Wiradjuri Elders and has been donated to the site by the artists and TAFE NSW Riverina Institute. Aboriginal Youth and Community Development Officer Ashleigh Pengelly said Apology Day is a chance for reflection for all.
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“It is important to commemorate the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous people as it marked an important step in the right direction by our government towards healing for many people, including local community members, who had been personally affected by the policies that resulted in the Stolen Generation,” Ms Pengelly said. The 2016 National Apology Day
ceremony was held on Friday 12 February, and featured a Welcome to Country, speeches by Deputy Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Dallas Tout and Wagga Citizen of the Year Joe Williams. The Federal Government Apology also represented the completion of one of five of the key measures of reparation recommended in the 1997 Bringing Them Home Report.
The Marrambidya Wetland project continues to progress, with bulky earthworks and outdoor learning area now complete. Stage 2 of the Green Army programme will start in March, and will complete plantings at the site, along with the installation of seating, bird hides and signage. An official opening of the wetland will be in early June 2016.
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