On the weekend of October 23-25th we had an extraordinarily rich celebration of family, community and Noongar culture at our Bush Camp at Nowanup.  The camp was led by Elders Eugene Eades and his cousin, Annette Eades.  Over the course of the weekend, 42 children from Kindergarten/Class 1/Class 2 attended with parents or carers, with 29 Golden Hill families represented; in all, including Elders and staff, there were 84 participants. 

On Friday evening, after camp set-up and an early dinner, Eugene officially welcomed us to Country and facilitated a beautiful smoking ceremony, through which the energy of the group was gathered and brought into a common focus.  Of course the children were very tired after a week of swimming lessons, nevertheless we managed to hold their attention long enough to gather around the campfire to listen to the first part of Uncle Noel Nannup’s story-cycle of ‘The Carers of Everything’.  Things went quiet very soon after families retreated to their tents for the evening.

Saturday was the main day of activity on the camp, and after breakfast Aunty Annette Eades took the girls and their mothers for a long walk and a yarn.  Karri Kindy families set off to explore the walk-trail, and those remaining behind settled into bushcraft activities.  Many tapping sticks were made, and when the girls returned, they worked on digging sticks together in the healing hut.  Later in the afternoon Aunty Annette led a convoy of vehicles to a special location to forage for youlk, native bush potatoes.  A range of other magical experiences and encounters took place throughout the day, and every adult and child naturally experienced their own pathway of activities throughout the day.

Some were able to make it to the cliffs to watch the beautiful sunset over the Stirling Ranges, and after an early dinner, we gathered again around the campfire for a singalong and the story ‘When the Sea Level Rose’.  This time, after the children retired to their tents, some adults managed to return to sing, jam and yarn around the fire into the evening.

Sunday morning after breakfast we gathered one last time to hear the final instalment in the Carer’s story-cycle ‘The Coming of the Colours’, followed by acknowledgements and thank-yous for the wonderful experience we had all shared together.  To top it all off, everyone gathered in the main shed to celebrate Evie’s birthday with an amazing ‘fruit’ cake, before the final pack-down and farewells.

It is difficult to capture in words the organic flow of activities and the sense of ‘being held by Boodja’ that is common to these events at Nowanup.  However, it feels safe to say that for our all-too-brief time together, everyone felt a part of one big connected family, a taste of the inter-relatedness of everyone and everything that is encompassed by the Noongar word for family, Moort. 

I would like to especially acknowledge Eugene and Annette for their wisdom, cultural knowledge and leadership, Bruce and Kristi for their facilitation of activities throughout the weekend, and Hannah and Tanya for volunteering to co-ordinate the food budget and preparation.