Told by Indigenous Elders of the Northern Rivers NSW
Published by Arts Northern Rivers, which funded production through donations from local residents and trusts, Our Way Stories in a beautifully illustrated collection of life stories recounted by ten Bundjalung Elders from this area.
Collected by Dale Simone Roberts over a two-year period, these oral histories are a valuable legacy of times past but not forgotten, and a reminder that here, like elsewhere in Australia, Indigenous people have survived despite terrible odds: “There were a lot of massacres… White fellas killing black fellas”, says Aunty Gwen Williams about the early days in Evans Head.
The book was launched at a packed event at the Byron Writers Festival on 5 August, with the Elders sharing music and songs, and speaking of their experiences growing up in and around the Northern Rivers towns.
“All of the Elders have embraced the project understanding that it is a unique opportunity to have their lives recorded in their own words and to pass on their knowledge before the stories are lost,” Dale writes in the introduction.
Language lies at the heart of the project, and as Elders noted at the launch, they were forbidden from speaking Bundjalung, in which they had been raised, when interacting with mainstream society.
Aunty Marge Close recalls that, “Granny took charge of us, they spoke lingo, they all talked the lingo, I could understand. All the old people spoke it. When we were at school we had to talk English.”
In one of the book’s historical photos, Aunty Dorrie Gordon, the first Aboriginal woman in NSW to become a Minister, is shown being daubed with ochre face paint prior to her ordination. The Elders in the Grafton area wanted her to remember her culture and “not forget it because I was going on to a bigger, higher thing in my life.”
The archival images complement the superb portrait and location photography by Kate Holmes, with Zoe Robinson-Kennedy’s design making the large-format, glossy paperback a truly lovely work.
The frequent cultural reminiscences remind us of how Aboriginal people - not only the Elders - continue to regard culture as central to their lives.
Pop Harry Walker, born “at the side of the big bridge in Tabulam”, recalls taking part in the corroboree called Yoward, enjoying how he “loved to see the painted bodies… the sound of the didgeridoo and the clap sticks… growing up as a young boy, listening was very important, for to learn was to listen, and to listen was to learn.”
His use of present tense highlights how culture is still alive: “It makes us happy, it brings joy to our souls, it makes us rejoice in the land knowing we are the people of the land.”
This project does great justice to the people of Bundjalung country, and the good news is that a follow-up volume is being planned - crowd-funders get ready!
The project partner for Our Way Stories was Bulgarr Ngaru Medical Aboriginal Corporation. Platinum supporters were the appropriately named Elders Real Estate offices in Bangalow and Lennox Head. Bronze supporters were Jan Barham, Dr Andrew Binns, Stephanie Boldeman and North Coast Community Housing. In addition, more than 150 individuals supported the project through crowd-funding donations.
