A new partnership fosters sharing and capturing of culture and Wadawurrung people’s journeys

A partnership between Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and a community organisation is putting education and sharing culture at the forefront.

Wadawurrung woman and WTOAC cultural strengthening general manager Corrina Eccles at Thompson Creek, Bremlea. Picture: Brad Fleet

“I keep the fire burning because it is in my spirit - my DNA - and is my cultural responsibility as a Wadawurrung woman,” Wadawurrung woman Corrina Eccles said.

A new website will share Wadawurrung language with the broader community, including spelling and pronunciation, in line witha Healthy Country Plan.

Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) has begun to tick off key components of the plan, with the supportof the Give Where You Live Foundation.

The financial support from the foundation has allowed the corporation to pursue a number of projects from the Healthy Country Plan.

Wadawurrung woman and WTOAC cultural strengthening general manager Corrina Eccles said indicators of the plan included language and education of the wider community.

“What is important culturally is that knowledge and journeys are captured now so future generations are aware of the journeys of their ancestors and family before them,” she said.

“We’ve supported and engaged many elders to record their life journeys, lived experience and stories.

“We developed the Yaneekan-werreeyt Wadawurrung Dja ‘Journey on Wadawurrung Country’, an immersive experience at Torquay, and we’ve used the funding to support the elders’ engagement.

“We’re giving people the opportunity to be educated more about Wadawurrung people and country.”

Wadawurrung woman Corrina Eccles keeps the fire burning. Picture: Brad Fleet

Ms Eccles said the organisation had also hosted a truth-telling event, Pilk Purriyn, on January 26 for the last two yearsat Cosy Corner. She said the free event attracted 4000 people this year.

“(The funding) also supported our Council of Elders and elders group gatherings,” she said.

“There’s no funding to bring elders together to have their governance and they have been part of our governance structurefor thousands of generations, so it’s been able to support them too.

“These things are what we want to achieve outside of core business.”

Give Where You Live chief executive Bill Mithen said the organisation offered WTOAC a three year grant initially, and hadnow written in its constitution it would provide 1 per cent of its earnings every year to the corporation.

“We have a goalof building fairness in our community and we couldn’t build fairness in a better way than to support First Nations peoplein whatever it is the Wadawurrung want or need,” he said.

“It isn’t enough money to deliver the whole plan but was enough to do a bit.

“This feels part of us — for me it’s almost not a decision, its innate in the organisation and we hope we’re really good allies.”

Mr Mithen said Give Where You Live had recently purchased a property in Leopold for a social enterprise nursery and was working with WTOAC to establish a native and Indigenous garden there.

He said he and the organisation wanted to continue to honour the courage, patience and generosity of spirit of Wadawurrung people.

Ms Eccles said the theme of NAIDOC Week, Keep the Fire Burning, was about how fire was life and spirit.

“To keep spirit and fire burning we need to be deeply listened to and we need people to allow us to share our cultural knowledge,” she said.

Originally published as A new partnership fosters sharing and capturing of culture and Wadawurrung people’s journeys