Gidhal: A collection of stories from our First Nations’ people

Gidhal

A collection of stories from our First Nations’ people

A collection of stories

from our First Nations’ people

St Margaret’s has launched an original publication titled Gidhal: A collection of stories from our First Nations’ people, authored by the school’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Pronounced “Gi-darl”, the publication’s namesake means “stories” in Kala Lagaw Ya, a language from the Torres Strait, spoken by eight St Margaret’s students. The publication is exactly that: a collection of stories and interviews told by St Margaret’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students past and present and their family members. Gidhal pays respect to who we are and where we came from, bringing these stories to life for our entire St Margaret’s community, and is also a wonderful record for our students to access and learn from the stories of First Nations people. The project was the result of an Innovation Grant awarded to secondary teachers Ms Margot Shave and Mr Noel Peinke in 2019. The impetus for the project was to harness the enormous potential of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to share their stories with the St Margaret’s community. Ms Shave said: “As English teachers, Noel and I firmly believe in the power of story to dispel misconceptions, share experiences and build reconciliation within the broader school community. “As each student explored opportunities to represent their family and communities, we learned more about their remarkable backgrounds and were humbled by the breadth of talent in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families,” she said. Students in Years 7 to 12 participated in the project, sharing recipes from treasured family cookbooks, photos from home, artworks from family members, personal reflections and profiles of Aboriginal activists. Gidhal was officially launched to the school community on Tuesday 3 November at a dedicated assembly with each of the participating students receiving a certificate and copy of the book. The students were thrilled to see their hard work in print. Year 10 student Elyne Tighe said: “My first reaction to seeing Gidhal in print was pride. I was amazed at how professional the magazine looked. It was a wonderful feeling to see all our hard work finally pay off and to know that we created a book which was so beautiful. “I know I am very lucky to have the wonderful heritage which I have and to be able to share this with the community through this publication is very empowering.” Aboriginal dance group Tribal Experiences, led by Shannon Ruska, performed a number of songs and dances from a collection of Aboriginal communities, to the delight of the audience, some of whom even joined in.

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Among the special guests were Aboriginal elder and author Dr Ruth Hegarty and The Reverend Canon Bruce Boase who both spoke at the launch. Other special guests in attendance included Linda Barron from the State Library of Queensland, Aboriginal elder and activist Lesley Williams, Waverley Stanely and Llew Mullins from Yalari, and RoseMarie Kopp, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education at Independent Schools Queensland. It was very fitting that during NAIDOC Week, Gidhal, a collection of stories giving voice to our First Nations’ people at St Margaret’s, was awarded a 2020 Innovation Award from The Educator magazine.

Gidhal A collection of stories from our First Nations’ people

A sense of place by Tyeena Pang, Year 12 In this moment, I hear the birds chatter and whispers of our ancestors’ voices as soft as the trees dancing with the wind; the trees and wind in a perfect duet singing us songs as we sit on the bank with our reels in hand; the fish and yabbies ready to dodge our hooks and pots. Our family sits around the fire telling stories and laughing. While cooking dinner, a warm, comforting hug from the fire enwraps us and the well anticipated smell of dinner teases me. Laying beneath the stars in our swags, beautiful twinkling lights cover the night sky in every direction. We sleep to the soothing sounds of the bush, then wake in the morning to the gossip of the birds – like an alarm they are right on time, resting high in the paperbark trees. These great trees conceal the beautiful oasis with shade and protection. When I look upon my country, Waanyi land, an oasis amongst the desert country, you can see Boodjamulla, the rainbow serpent who formed the great river and gave sustenance to the surrounding vegetation and animals. This country is sacred to many people. For me it adds to my cultural identity and internal feeling of connection to land. It is part of who I am, both my past and future. This is my country, my home. Moving to the city was like waking up from a dream. Looking through my window I see many lights, not the lights I remember. I strain my head to find the beautiful twinkling lights from my home, finally realising they aren’t stars. They are buildings and houses. No star in sight. The trees still dance in the wind but not to the voices of my ancestors. They move to the breeze of cars and trains. The internal feeling of disconnection and isolation bubbles inside of me. This was a choice I made, and I have been determined from Year 7 to see it through. There were many challenges and doubts faced that made me question myself and my ability. However, through the endless support from my family I overcame these struggles. This might not look like that beautiful river, have as many stars or sing the sweet melodies of the bush, but I am surrounded by family. I have gained so many more stories and laughs from this new place. It has filled me with hope and curiosity. Wherever life takes me, I have the knowledge of both places to guide and strengthen me in my future endeavours.

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My little town in the middle of nowhere By Charlea Smith, Year 9 In the middle of nowhere sits a town called Bedourie. It sits in Wankangnurru land. It’s a small bubble and barely seen as anything more than just a gas station on most maps. It’s small but it’s full of people I call family. I grew up there, knowing almost every person who lived there or close by in the neighbouring towns of Birdsville and Boulia. This small bubble of a town is the place I have the most beloved memories of and the only place that felt like home even after I left. My favourite memories of all would be the ones I shared with my Uncie and Aunt Jackie. My Uncie and I would watch old Elvis Presley performance tapes on the VHR and eat candies like the gummy Lifesavers. We’d sit and watch them all day. When I was three years old in a town like Bedourie, being three years old and having nothing to do called for creativity and outside thinking. So, I’d write stories and draw and hang out with my beloved Uncie, playing cards or watching movies. These memories are probably the earliest I have and they are some of my favorite. I’d spend all my time with my Uncie and cousin Lara. Lara and I were like sisters, living together up until we were seven. We’d spend time playing make believe and getting up to mischief. One of my most vivid memories with Lara was when we wanted to be hairdressers and cut each other’s hair. I remember Mom being so mad about it and telling my Nan and Uncie and Aunt Jackie. They all laughed heartily. I recall these memories like they were yesterday, and look back on them fondly. These simple and silly memories are what makes me, me. If it weren’t for these moments I probably would’ve never grown up and realised cutting your own hair and jumping on boiling trailers and broken car roofs was silly. These moments are the moments that I miss as a child though because doing those things now makes you look crazy. My dog Oscar was always around when I needed him; he was such a soft soul and cared for all creatures, befriending even cats when he’d come across one. I’ve always been allergic to certain animals, especially dogs and cats, but my dog Oscar was one that I wasn’t allergic to. I started drawing when I was little, wishing that one day I could be an artist. I wanted to paint and draw and one day see my works displayed in a gallery. But now I know that you don’t have to have your works featured anywhere to be an artist. My Nan and my Aunts were all artists, from gallery show cases to just creating in your lounge room. My Aunts Joyce and Jean Crombie are the gallery artists. Their works made their way from canvas to fences and walls around our small bubble of a town. My Nan, Mona Smith, however, kept her art around her house. Dot paintings and photographs and an old half-made didgeridoo adorned her walls and halls, from the lounge to the bedrooms. It was everywhere. Growing up, art surrounded me fully and I don’t know what I’d do without it today.

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Joey Laifoo by St Margaret’s Alumni, Indira Laifoo (’19) The intricately carved hieroglyphs used by the Ancient Egyptians on their pyramids were a catalyst for Torres Strait Islander artist Joey Laifoo to explore the stories of his people. “I saw how the artists there had used the knowledge of the time and captured this in pictures and thought that we could do something similar in the Torres Strait,” he said. “I wanted to document these stories and also the big changes in knowledge from different generations.” Joey travelled to Egypt on a government scholarship in his early twenties after studying visual art at TAFE in Cairns. “At the time I thought if I can record these stories in my art, then the young people have a template to learn from,” he said in an interview at St Margaret’s as his daughter, Indira, graduated from school. Today, Joey is an internationally recognised Australian artist with works in the National Art Gallery, the Queensland Art Gallery and in galleries overseas. He has travelled extensively with his art and hosted workshops in Jordan, Morocco, India, Germany and throughout the Pacific. For Joey, his inspiration comes from his Uncle, Athe, Harry Nona, a famous Torres Strait Islander artist who had similar interests – hunting, fishing and being with family. He also draws on stories from his Mum about his family and events from his childhood in the Torres Strait. Joey’s most valued work is the Pearl Diver which documents the experiences of his grandfather and 22 other Torres Strait Islander pearl divers. After interviewing each diver, he wove their stories into the lino-cut artwork. Each intricate symbol represents an element of knowledge or celebration of the way of life for his people during this time. Two of his artworks have been included in this publication, Horn Island and Drag Net. “To me it’s really important that we tell the stories of my grandparents and great-grandparents and pass down this knowledge from generation to generation,” Joey said.

Drag Net – shows men fishing for trevally, an every-day fish. Mangroves, crocodiles and turtles are represented in the artwork, along with the warning not to fish in the quarter moon as alligator fish could tear the nets.

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