Last month on the 8th of August ABC's program Message Stick aired a program on "Caring for our Country" which aimed to recognise that caring for the environment is a shared responsibility and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's knowledge is an important contribution to that effort. This episode included a segment on the Kurnell Peninsula, particularly on the "Towra Team" which involves Indigenous people in bush regeneration activities.
The transcript of this episode is copied below.
To view a video of the program and the full transcript visit: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2975739.htm
MIRIAM COROWA: Hello, I'm Miriam Corowa, welcome to Message Stick. This is our second week of special programs on caring for country.
It goes without saying that a deeply spiritual connection to country defines Australia's first peoples. And that Indigenous knowledge is likely to be vital in reducing the worst effects of climate change.
This week's five short films confirm that protecting the environment is a shared responsibility, and that Indigenous peoples' knowledge shouldn't be overlooked, but celebrated and used to care for our environment.
DEAN KELLY: On the 29th of April, 1770, a big white bird sailed into the bay. On board what the Aboriginal people thought was a big bird, was Lieutenant James Cook. And that was the first day of contact.
From that day, our people have continually been removed from this site, and disconnected. This project is very much about trying to reconnect the Aboriginal people back to the site.
YVONNE SIMMS: These boys were getting into trouble every day, weren't going to school.
PEGGY ANNABEL:When I first met these boys, I felt that they would really have to make a lot of changes to have a good future in a regular job.
JEYNARA MURRAY: First I was in Year 10, finished school. Got a pretty- not a good certificate.
ADAM RUSSELL: Well, I was probably with Centrelink, and just bumming around La Perouse.
JEYNARA MURRAY: I was on Centrelink doing nothing and then Dan offered me the job and I was like - yeah. Didn't know really much what it was about, just National Parks.
DEAN KELLY: The Towra Team is what some people might say is an Aboriginal Green Team.
ADAM MASON:It's like a program they've got going for us young ones to educate us, to get us our certificates and help us with the National Parks.
YVONNE SIMMS: It's employed and trained and skilled a lot of our young male and female, for this area.
DEAN KELLY: They do a lot of bush regeneration works. The project the Towra Team is working on now is to restore a threatened species, the Kurnell Dune Forest.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We're trying to get it back to the point where it was when Captain Cook actually arrived in 1770.
DEAN KELLY: That vegetation was documented and samples were taken back to England by Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, the two naturalists onboard the Endeavour.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We're collecting only the plants that were here originally, and we're collecting the seed only from this area.
DEAN KELLY: Part of the boys' work is to not only plant those plants, but know them. Know what they're putting back, make sure they're the right species that belong here on the site.
PEGGY ANNABEL:Just at the moment, you've got to find a melaleuca nodosa and put that one in...
ADAM MASON:Peggy, she would take us out into the bush and show us some of the weeds that shouldn't be there. So, we do a lot of weeding, as well as planting seeds.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We don't want to damage the plant, but we want to get a lot of seeds.
JEYNARA MURRAY: She would show us the plants and stuff, which ones we can store in the bag, the seeds. They're the ones we would plant out on the hill.
DEAN KELLY: On the weekends, usually Sundays, when it's the busiest in the hot weather, the boys do boat patrol.
BOY: We've gotta take care of Towra Island. We've gotta educate people, because they're not allowed on certain areas of Towra beach. We've gotta hand out pamphlets and tell them why they aren't allowed on there, and just patrol the island. Make sure no-one goes on there, ruins it.
SEAN DELSIGNORE: I've been involved in the Towra Team for say, close to two years. It's all interconnected, and the wider community is all involved in the cultural stuff we do. And it's a good learning experience for everyone. It's good employment opportunities.
DEAN KELLY: Alright, boys. We've found a nice straight one here, we're going to cut it down. But we're going to use this, OK? We're going to make some spears out of it.
BOY: I think it's much better for me to be outside and be involved in Aboriginal cultural stuff in regards to caring for country and learning our customs and our heritage, and passing that knowledge down.
SEAN DELSIGNORE: Here boys, here's some good examples of some bush medicine. It's angophora sap, which is used as a penicillin for toothaches.
PEGGY ANNABEL:The skills that they've developed here are going to make their potential for the future just absolutely wonderful.
ADAM MASON:It's good to do something for my own people and to help out, just care for country.
ADAM RUSSELL: It gave me heaps of confidence about being with other people around job sites, work sites, and that.
JEYNARA MURRAY: Makes me feel proud just knowing that you're looking after your local area.
YVONNE SIMMS: I can't get over it, I can't get over the change in them. they've shown most of all respect for country, respect for their elders, and they've got a sense of how we used to live here.
DEAN KELLY: They're very proud of who they are when they're part of the Towra Team. What we provide them with now is a doorway. A doorway that could open up to many different places, many different job opportunities. The future is theirs, it's in their hands.
It goes without saying that a deeply spiritual connection to country defines Australia's first peoples. And that Indigenous knowledge is likely to be vital in reducing the worst effects of climate change.
This week's five short films confirm that protecting the environment is a shared responsibility, and that Indigenous peoples' knowledge shouldn't be overlooked, but celebrated and used to care for our environment.
DEAN KELLY: On the 29th of April, 1770, a big white bird sailed into the bay. On board what the Aboriginal people thought was a big bird, was Lieutenant James Cook. And that was the first day of contact.
From that day, our people have continually been removed from this site, and disconnected. This project is very much about trying to reconnect the Aboriginal people back to the site.
YVONNE SIMMS: These boys were getting into trouble every day, weren't going to school.
PEGGY ANNABEL:When I first met these boys, I felt that they would really have to make a lot of changes to have a good future in a regular job.
JEYNARA MURRAY: First I was in Year 10, finished school. Got a pretty- not a good certificate.
ADAM RUSSELL: Well, I was probably with Centrelink, and just bumming around La Perouse.
JEYNARA MURRAY: I was on Centrelink doing nothing and then Dan offered me the job and I was like - yeah. Didn't know really much what it was about, just National Parks.
DEAN KELLY: The Towra Team is what some people might say is an Aboriginal Green Team.
ADAM MASON:It's like a program they've got going for us young ones to educate us, to get us our certificates and help us with the National Parks.
YVONNE SIMMS: It's employed and trained and skilled a lot of our young male and female, for this area.
DEAN KELLY: They do a lot of bush regeneration works. The project the Towra Team is working on now is to restore a threatened species, the Kurnell Dune Forest.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We're trying to get it back to the point where it was when Captain Cook actually arrived in 1770.
DEAN KELLY: That vegetation was documented and samples were taken back to England by Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, the two naturalists onboard the Endeavour.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We're collecting only the plants that were here originally, and we're collecting the seed only from this area.
DEAN KELLY: Part of the boys' work is to not only plant those plants, but know them. Know what they're putting back, make sure they're the right species that belong here on the site.
PEGGY ANNABEL:Just at the moment, you've got to find a melaleuca nodosa and put that one in...
ADAM MASON:Peggy, she would take us out into the bush and show us some of the weeds that shouldn't be there. So, we do a lot of weeding, as well as planting seeds.
PEGGY ANNABEL:We don't want to damage the plant, but we want to get a lot of seeds.
JEYNARA MURRAY: She would show us the plants and stuff, which ones we can store in the bag, the seeds. They're the ones we would plant out on the hill.
DEAN KELLY: On the weekends, usually Sundays, when it's the busiest in the hot weather, the boys do boat patrol.
BOY: We've gotta take care of Towra Island. We've gotta educate people, because they're not allowed on certain areas of Towra beach. We've gotta hand out pamphlets and tell them why they aren't allowed on there, and just patrol the island. Make sure no-one goes on there, ruins it.
SEAN DELSIGNORE: I've been involved in the Towra Team for say, close to two years. It's all interconnected, and the wider community is all involved in the cultural stuff we do. And it's a good learning experience for everyone. It's good employment opportunities.
DEAN KELLY: Alright, boys. We've found a nice straight one here, we're going to cut it down. But we're going to use this, OK? We're going to make some spears out of it.
BOY: I think it's much better for me to be outside and be involved in Aboriginal cultural stuff in regards to caring for country and learning our customs and our heritage, and passing that knowledge down.
SEAN DELSIGNORE: Here boys, here's some good examples of some bush medicine. It's angophora sap, which is used as a penicillin for toothaches.
PEGGY ANNABEL:The skills that they've developed here are going to make their potential for the future just absolutely wonderful.
ADAM MASON:It's good to do something for my own people and to help out, just care for country.
ADAM RUSSELL: It gave me heaps of confidence about being with other people around job sites, work sites, and that.
JEYNARA MURRAY: Makes me feel proud just knowing that you're looking after your local area.
YVONNE SIMMS: I can't get over it, I can't get over the change in them. they've shown most of all respect for country, respect for their elders, and they've got a sense of how we used to live here.
DEAN KELLY: They're very proud of who they are when they're part of the Towra Team. What we provide them with now is a doorway. A doorway that could open up to many different places, many different job opportunities. The future is theirs, it's in their hands.
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