This piece was first published in December 2019. IMAGE: Taieisha with the beautiful painting her mum, artist Nicole Ferguson created at Kegworth.
We touch the ground of the Gadigal land.
We reach for the sky that covers the Gadigal land
We touch our hearts for the care of the Gadigal land.
This is the newly created Acknowledgement of Country that our school now says at every assembly. This helps better recognise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders’ land. The new Acknowledgement of Country is a bit shorter than the old one, but it involves everyone.
Instead of just one person reading out the Acknowledgement of Country to the entire school, everyone has to stand up and say it together, get involved and learn about the importance of this speech.
The old Acknowledgement of Country didn’t involve everyone and it was always the same. This meant that it was quite plain and boring which made a perfect opportunity for the students to start up a conversation. This was extremely disrespectful to those who were here before us and the people reading out the speech. The children would also not have a good understanding of why we do the Acknowledgement of Country and who it respects.
Next year Kegworth will be doing the New Welcome to country in the Gadigal language. This will make an already good speech an amazing one. This New Welcome to country said in the Gadigal language will teach students how to speak and understand an indigenous Australian language. It will also be easier for the people who speak that language to understand what we are saying.
From the old and new, Acknowledgement of Country has always been about respecting and recognising the indigenous people and their place in our world. From the past, present and future the land that we stand on today always was and always will be, indigenous land.
