Genuine spirit of reconciliation in Leongatha

ACKNOWLEDGING concern about division and the angst some people feel about being welcomed to their own country, Wiradjuri man, South Gippsland resident and Parks Victoria Ranger Clinton Morton explained that’s not what Welcomes to Country are about, delivering a positive Reconciliation Week speech in Leongatha on Wednesday.

“You are not being welcomed to Australia, you are being welcomed to tribal country, and country is more than just land to traditional owners,” he said, speaking about the obligation to care for country.

Mr Morton elaborated that when he speaks about respecting ancestors, he is referring to everyone’s ancestors, explaining “We’re all here today because of the choices the people who came before us have made, good, bad, ugly, doesn’t really matter.”

He touched on the importance of farming in the local area and the attachment and connection farmers have to the land, a commonality with Indigenous people.

“People want to talk about divisions but it’s not real; those people who manage those farmlands and look after them, they care about their country, not just because it makes them money but most of them have been there generations, they love that land, and that’s the same thing mob is talking about,” Mr Morton said.

He touched on traditional ways and the significance of smoking ceremonies, when venturing onto another mobs’ land.

“You would light a smoky fire to announce your presence and sit and wait patiently, and somebody from the other mob would come forward to you and you would explain why you want to come onto their country; if they decided the reason was good enough, then you would be invited to their fire,” Mr Morton said.

“They would smoke you and cleanse you and then sing you,” he added, explaining that altered the resonance within your body so you cause no disharmony with the land you are coming onto and that you will be protected there.

Those welcomed to country accept their responsibility to care for it.

“I’m a big fan of the one mob concept,” Mr Morton stressed, acknowledging his European side by saying he is related to Caroline Chisholm, Red Beard the Pirate and Dick Turpin the highway robber.

“That is important for me to know who I am; so, celebrate who you are, where you come from, and how you ended up here today,” he told his audience.

In reference to the concept of reconciliation, Mr Morton stressed the importance of building relationships by sitting down equally and sharing and learning from each other.

That followed on from a question posed earlier by South Gippsland Shire Mayor Nathan Hersey who enquired of his audience, “Have you ever tried to reconcile your differences with someone you have no relationship with, or you haven’t bothered to talk to?”

Cr Hersey linked the need for genuine relationship building to this year’s Reconciliation Week theme, ‘All In’.

“To be truly all in, I want to encourage you to step up and to think more about learning, about history, culture and achievements and carry that understanding forward in our workplaces, families and communities, and be open to building and bridging relationships,” he said.

Having previously worked in Indigenous communities with not-for-profit groups, Cr Hersey spoke of the frustration expressed by community members that government didn’t take the time to stop and listen to their needs.

He spoke of practical projects he was part of in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, for example, getting a medical centre accredited, that achieved partially through addressing simple requirements such as making the centre’s carparking arrangements compliant.

Cr Hersey admitted to having his views challenged when he began working in Indigenous communities, having previously thought everybody in Australia was well cared for.

“What I learnt is that we can change how we understand, and change our way of acting and responding through genuine discussion, listening and true engagement, something that for me came about through those basic maintenance projects,” he said, noting learning helps to move beyond assumptions and misunderstandings.

South Gippsland Shire Council’s Reconciliation Week event proved a meaningful gathering that went well beyond a token raising of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags, and before anyone complains, the Australian flag was also raised.