I was honoured to be invited along to the NAIDOC celebrations at Taree High School last Thursday night.
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It was one of those events I’m so glad I attended – probably one of the biggest highlights of my year so far.
First I want to mention the incredible talent of our local indigenous performers and commend the amazing contribution of Russell Saunders, Andy Saunders, Jay Davis and Jeremy Saunders.
Andy had me in stitches the whole night – his sense of humour and timing is amazing. I especially enjoyed the talk about the Mo Mo and the Shake a Leg dance and his stories about his uncles.
Jay performed the Native Bee Song with Taree Public School students, and I could tell the kids were having an absolute ball. It was a privilege to hear the Biripi language during the performance as well as spoken throughout the night. It’s a fascinating, beautiful language to listen to and it was wonderful to hear it spoken so confidently in expression of their songlines and culture.
Russell Saunders was another standout. In my job I get to meet all the famous people who visit this town, but it’s a privilege to actually personally know a living legend. His contribution to the night was outstanding.
Jeremy’s involvement in the didgeridoo Yadagi Trio, which included Russell and Jesse Shilling, was one of the most amazing performance I’ve ever seen (you can see it on our website). The vibration and the sound was running through my body.
During Uncle Will Paulson’s story of the diggers he briefly mentioned that during the didgeridoo performance he closed his eyes and felt it touch his soul. I agree with him. Diggers are affected by the bugle on Anzac Day, Scottish people are affected by the pipes, but none of these are tens of thousands of years old.
I learnt a lot from Jesse Shilling’s didgeridoo talk and demonstration and enjoyed fantastic song performances by Aunty Joanie McDonald, Ralph Saunders, the amazing voice of Tamikah Browne and all their accompanists. The dancing performances from the boys and the girls were inspiring and showed strong love for their culture. The dances were complemented by a running slideshow projected onto the wall behind them. The Taree High hospitality students provided beautiful food during interval.
I hope they do it again next year. The hall was full, but it was such an amazing show perhaps they’ll need a bigger venue.