Take Off Every Wednesday

NEWS How an Indigenous graduate at the National Library of Australia, Yanti Ropeyarn (right), made both a personal dream and a professional one, come to life. This is her story. Yanti fulfi ls dream at National Library IT'S not every day you fi nd a high school • Karbai: Bamaga State High School 1986 came across the magazine. picture of your father in a school magazine • Northern Peninsula Area State College Every issue held by the National Library held in one of the country's leading collecting Magazine 2015 is now digitised. And they've made his- institutions - yet this is exactly what happened • North of the Jardine: a look at the fi ve tory too. The Bamaga State High School to me. communities of the N.P.A. /produced by magazines are the fi rst school magazine to The institution is the National Library of students of Bamaga State High School 1987. be digitised through Trove. Australia in Canberra and the picture is from a What I fi nd to be the most-valuable feature I am very proud and humbled at this great copy of the 1974 edition of the Bamaga State of the magazines is the stories it captured achievement. High School magazine. which the students shared. *Yanti is an Angamuthi, Yadhayakana, To my amazement, the same school I Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Woppaburra woman from Injinoo, Cape attended as a student, led as a school captain stories are told orally and so to see them in York, Queensland. and graduated from, was publishing since writing gives further emphasis and impor- She graduated with a Bachelor of Com- it was established 1973, and the National tance. It also helps to ensure that they last so merce from the University of New South Library had retained copies for preservation future generations are also able to read them. Wales and was the National Library of purposes. The magazines also provide signifi cant Australia's 2016 Indigenous graduate. She After discovering the magazine in the historical information from the establishment currently works Library's collection, I started spreading the of the fi ve communities (Bamaga, Injinoo, as a Reference word via social media calling for more copies New Mapoon, Seisia and Umagico) to Librarian in of the magazine to come into the national traditional cooking recipes, class photos, the National collection so the complete story could be stories, tributes, Kath Walker-inspired poems, Library's collected, preserved and made accessible for traditional songs and lyrics, illustrations and Newspaper and everyone. many more." Family History The Library now has seven copies of Having made the connections on a per- zone. the school magazine in its collection, and a sonal level, I believe it was important to One of student-published guide: share this with everyone back home in the Yanti's passion • Bamaga State High School magazine fi ve communities. to be connect 1973 With permission from the School's Princi- the Library's • Bamaga State High School magazine pal Jennifer Skeahan as head of the College, I collection to 1974 began 'my little passion project' to have them Indigenous • Karbai: Bamaga State High School 1975 all digitised and made accessible via Trove. communities • Karbai: Bamaga State High School 1976 I knew everyone would draw the same both rural and • Karbai: Bamaga State High School 1977 connections and feelings I felt when I fi rst remote. TAKE OFF EVERY WEDNESDAY What makes this fi nd surprising is that my father, George, attended Bamaga State High School from years 1974 to 1976. Nearly 30 years after my father attended the school, my mother, Jennifer, now We are taking off every teaches at the High School after graduating from R.A.T.E.P in 2001. Wednesday with a same day return day flight from Cairns to Horn Island. Make Wednesday your business travel day, and Mr Adikuiam Adidi relocated to Bamaga with the second group of Saibai save time and money. Islanders as a Government teacher after the Second World War. Before moving to Bamaga, Mr Adidi resided at Muttee Heads where he Johnathan Thurston, established the Muttee Head School in July, 1946, using a converted Army Hut. Skytrans co-owner Stoic and disciplinarian, a respected and (then) active servant of the Torres Strait people, his lifetime achievement spans more than 40 years. Box ad bookings: Noon, Wednesday before publication Box ad material: TORRES Noon, Wednesday before publication Bookings 1300 SKYTRANS (1300 759 872) or online at www.skytrans.com.au Line classifieds: NEWS 10.30am, Thursday before publication Page 10 Torres News 12 - 18 February 2018.

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