www.asgmwp.net Spring 2004 An invitation to join Dave has also been playing music since he was young. Nature is a big part of his life and music, always drawing inspiration the ABORIGINAL SUPPORT GROUP from his farm in Southern NSW. in celebrating its He is responsible for the fragrant garden project created for the Royal Blind Society. 25th We are very excited that Nature Nature has agreed to play at our 25th birthday celebrations. BIRTHDAY Be part of this special occasion! on SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21st at 3pm And how did it all begin? by the shore of Narrabeen Lake at Narrabeen Scout Hall, GENESIS OF A GROUP near the end of Goodwin Street – south of the Tramshed bus stop Once…Many Years Ago People meet in many and different ways. Movements often begin Relive the Group’s long journey On The Road To Reconciliation through happenstance, from small and insignificant events. This that started in 1979. Bring along any photographs and is the story of a group of people living on the Northern Beaches memorabilia of interest that you have as there will be time to of Sydney, who came together because they had a shared reminisce, meet old friends and make new acquaintances. passion to see the right relationships forged between Indigenous We will have a sausage sizzle after 5pm and a birthday cake. and settler Australians. Your contribution of finger food and drinks of your choice would Pam Beasley and Tom Gavranic were both travelling on the top of be appreciated. We have the Scout Hall booked so we can party a double-decker bus along Barrenjoey Road toward Narrabeen. in any weather but if a glorious evening no doubt we will end up Pam was reading about Aboriginal Australia. Tom was interested sitting in our usual spot by the lake, so throw in a chair or blanket in her book and papers – looking over her shoulder. It was a for this purpose. casual meeting between strangers, out of which a mutually Nature Nature, the duo of didgeridoo and flute, will be stimulating conversation ensued. At Narrabeen, Enid McIlraith, an performing its musical magic during the afternoon. Nature old friend of Pam, joined the bus. Pam was delighted to introduce Nature feature an exciting blend of virtuoso didgeridoo playing by her to Tom. An even more interesting conversation flowed through- Henry Phineasa with flute, clarinet and percussion by David out the duration of the journey. A future meeting was suggested McBurney. Their music is inspired by and infused with the sights and agreed to – the beginning of an ongoing commitment. and sounds of nature, its magnificence and many moods. Henry Pam had a deep interest in, and concern for, Indigenous people. creates incredible bird and animal sounds on his didgeridoo. A teacher, she had studied anthropology and history. One of her David and Henry met many years ago through their links with the daughters had married into the Mumballa family, a well-known Royal Blind Society – Henry as a client and David as the gardener Aboriginal family. Tom, a physician, was Medical Officer, at for the Society. Yirrkala and Groote Eylandt early in the 1970s. He was Henry is an Indigenous Australian who from the age of seven enthusiastic about the Aboriginal Treaty Committee, which had received didgeridoo lessons from his grandfather. This led to a gained publicity and some support throughout Australia. Enid had lifelong relationship with the didge. He was a formidable experience in the Trade Union Movement and had also been sportsman well before he lost his sight in his early teens and he personal assistant to Rev Alf Clint, who had established Tranby now plays blind cricket. Aboriginal Cooperative College in Glebe. Continued Page 2 Spring 2004 1 ELIMATTA Continued from Page 1 From A STORY TO TELL … ON A ROAD TOWARD On that day in 1979, none of these three RECONCILIATION 1979 to 2000 people would have thought that a community of people calling themselves Copies of A STORY TO TELL will be the Aboriginal Support Group – Manly available on Sunday November 21. Cost Warringah Pittwater would in the year $30. If purchasing by mail please add $5 2000 be celebrating twenty-one years of for postage striving for a more just Australia. Artwork by Lisa Buxton SPINNING Isn’t it great to know that connections are long-term access to online Australian being made in different countries and for publications which are “considered to have different reasons. Oh,one last request this national significance” and are “of lasting THE WEB time from a phone call. Jacqueline Martin cultural value”. (also known as Millane) was a student at The NLA will catalogue Elimatta and add Narrabeen High in 1986/7. Her best friend I have wondered from time to time whether the record to the National Bibliographic was an Aboriginal girl, Christine Everett, the hard work and effort our website Co- Database (a database of catalogue records who lived at the Lakeside Caravan Park at ordinator Vanessa Walsh puts in to her shared by over 1,100 Australian libraries) Narrabeen. They shared lots of secrets and work is justified.. Does anyone out there as well as to the AIATSIS online catalogue. good times. Jacqueline has recently found access www.asgmwp.net? Well it seems This will encourage among the researchers out that she is Aboriginal and would dearly I have my answer and it is that they do. using libraries an increased awareness of love to meet up with Christine again and Here are a few examples. Elimatta and the Aboriginal Support Group share this with her. Jacqueline can be – Manly Warringah Pittwater. One recent enquiry was from an Australian contacted on 0403 513 756. who lives in France. He had bought a Anna Bell All contributors to Elimatta need to be boomerang for his French girlfriend when aware and in agreement that their work last in Sydney and was trying to find out will be archived by the NLA. Additional more information about the Aboriginal information about PANDORA can be found artist. As it happened we could help him. ELIMATTA on the Library’s server at I passed on the information to my Koori :http://pandora.gov.au/index.htm friend who through her network was able ONLINE to give Louis in France his answer. NATIONALLY One obvious use of the information on the In one Aboriginal language web is for students seeking information for Elimatta means ‘our home’. In all sorts of assignments. From Trinity www.asgmwp.net naming our newsletter this way we College, Dublin, came a request from a express our dream for this country – PHD student doing a thesis on political A request has been received through the a real home both to Aboriginal apologies – Why is it important for Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres people and later settlers. That Aboriginal people to have an apology? Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) for the depends on us being ‘at home’ with Closer to home a student from Macquarie National Library of Australia (NLA) to each other and to each other. University is doing a Masters in Wildlife archive Elimatta “because of the Management and had a question which I significance of the community service” could pass on to the local Aboriginal it provides. Community. Last month UTS students The Support Group’s first newsletter doing Aboriginal studies as part of a Elimatta will be included in the PANDORA was produced in March 1982. The primary teaching assignment obviously Archive, Australia’s Web Archive, which 1987 Winter edition was named were alerted to our website as I had no was set up by the NLA in 1996. PANDORA Elimatta for the first time. less than eight students asking for help. enables the archiving and provision of Spring 2004 2 ELIMATTA BURIED COUNTRY The Story of Aboriginal Country Music The video Buried Country was shown at was some well-meaning Christian realised that the story has moved on since the August Information Night. missionary who was delighted to hear this the video was made. Then, Yothu Yindi, I Christmas evergreen coming from the lips guess, only started to gain acknowledg- Normally when we view videos we have of Aboriginal children. But on Monday night ment and would no doubt feature in a the pleasure of the big screen, and a it did nothing more than remind me of second video. professionally projected image. But not on manipulation and the sad demise of this occasion. Aboriginal culture through the imposition of When I came home on Monday night, I strange European customs. played a couple of tracks from Yothu The screen was ‘homesize’ – about Yindi’s Tribal Voice. I found myself listening average for the normal lounge room. But Although much of the Aboriginal culture in a way that would not have been despite its comparative smallness it had a was lost, the spirit took hold of country possible when I first bought that disc. The distinct advantage. Perhaps because of its music style and told the stories through track Gapu from the Gumatj clan of north smallness, it drew the 40 plus members that medium. Names like Tex Morton, Slim eastern Arnhem Land made me aware of together as we might have been drawn Dusty and Billy Bargo came to the screen. the life-giving movement of the tides and together around a campfire. And indeed And we heard the ache in the heart that the importance of salt-water. I will think of there were scenes of campfires on the lay behind titles like Give the Coloured Kid that song when next I walk Dee Why video which no doubt inspired this a Chance and My Brown Skin Baby, Don’t Beach.