BABANA NEWS

Edition 2 – February 2013 Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group Inc.

From the Chair

February 2013

I would like to welcome you to our second edition of Babana News. We have received a lot of positive comments on the new design and we will continue to work on improvements over the course of the year.

Babana held our AGM last month and I am proud to say that the board has been re-elected. Our elected Elder Eric Robinson has been voted to join our board.

We have dedicated the beginning of this newsletter to honour two of our members who received awards over the Australia Day Weekend. With great pride and pleasure I’d like to congratulate Shane Phillips and Luke Freudenstein for the awards that they received.

It has been amazing to see the level of community and corporate organisations visiting the Babana office. I would like to again invite anyone interested in bettering our community to come along and be involved in our group.

Babana is currently working with a major Australian company on an Aboriginal Employment event in July so keep an eye out on our website and newsletters.

We have a number of events coming up including Closing the Gap Day and Coloured Digger Anzac Event. We look forward to seeing you at these events.

I would finally like to thank those who have made contributions to this newsletter, without your assistance it would not be able to be completed.

We look forward to seeing you at our meetings and events during the next month.

In this edition

Australia Day Tribute Bush Footy Yarns One Man’s Story of Reconciliation Babana Supporter Profile Feature Articles Future Map Aboriginal Business Spotlight Membership Meeting Notice

Tribute to Australia Day Awardees

Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group would like to congratulate two of our members in gaining Australia Day Awards.

Shane Phillips who has been a valued member of our organisationwas names as the National Australian of the Year for the local Hero category.

He is an advocate for Aboriginal rights, a respected member of the Redfern Aboriginal community and is regarded as their voice on a range of youth issues, juvenile justice and Aboriginal deaths in custody. He is the fulltime CEO of the Tribal Warrior Association, a non-profit organisation directed by Aboriginal people and Elders that offers training for employment and helps at the grassroots level with emergency relief for struggling families

Babana was instrumental in the organisation of an event on Sydney harbour to honour Shane.

While the weather was not the best we still had an amazing turnout led by the Governor of NSW and the Federal member of Sydney.

We would like to thank those who turned out on the day. The following few pages are a pictorial dedication to our Local Hero.

Luke Freudenstein is like a brother to those within Babana and we were so proud to hear that he was awarded the highest award – Australian Police Medal over the Australia Day Weekend.

Since being appointed as Commander at Redfern Local Area Command in 2008, Superintendent Freudenstein has been instrumental in forging strong and lasting relationships between not only the indigenous community of Redfern but more broadly with Aboriginal people across NSW. He regularly receives invitations to speak on police and indigenous issues nationally.

Bush Footy Yarns

Recently Bush Footy Yarns, a Facebook page frequented by rugby league fans, held a competition asking people to vote for the best players that ‘bush footy’ had produced. To be eligible a player had to have played first grade for both an ARL or NRL club and a ‘bush footy’ club. All players and coaches selected in the team were honoured at the inaugural Bush Footy Yarns launch at Parkes on January 4. Babana would like to congratulate Mick Peachey who was named as captain for the team. Mick is the manager of student services for the Indigenous unit at the University of New South Wales and our men’s group work very closely with Nura Gili and their push to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders entering into the higher education sector. Mick starting with the reserve grade Mendooran side in 1984 and had a career spanning over 20 years including representation at South Sydney in first grade and the Indigenous team. BUSH FOOTY YARNS’ BEST TEAM: 1 David Peachey, 2 Nathan Blacklock, 3 Mick Cronin, 4 William ‘Bubba’ Kennedy, 5 Terry Fahey, 6 Mick Peachey (c), 7 Dennis Moran, 8 Grant Wooden, 9 Ian Walsh, 10 Josh Miller, 11 Ronnie Gibbs, 12 Joel Thompson, 13 Johnny Raper, 14 Ewan McGrady, 15 Jamie Lyon, 16 Laurie Daley, 17 Dave Elvy. Coach: Ted Goodwin. Assistant coach: Will Harris

One Man’s Story of Reconciliation

In February Reconciliation Australia released research measuring the impact of its Reconciliation Action Plans. The RAP process sees Reconciliation Australia work with corporate and NGO partners to devise strategies for these organisations to engage effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The nearly 400 current RAPs have helped to secure almost 20,000 jobs for Indigenous Australians, more than $15 million for educational scholarships for Indigenous students and about $58 million in transactions with Indigenous businesses. Importantly, the research also found that trust is significantly higher between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in RAP organisations, when compared to the wider community, and that prejudice is much lower.

KPMG’s James Mabbott, who recently spent four weeks working with Redfern organisation Babana, explains why……

Imagine going to work and having no desk, no office and no employees. That’s what I

did in 2011 when I spent four weeks on secondment with Babana Aboriginal Men’s

Group in Redfern. I went on secondment with Babana to help find premises and assist

in getting funding to employ a staff member - two small things that most businesses

take for granted.

Babana isn’t a normal business, it’s a not-for-profit focused on Aboriginal men who live and work in Redfern. Led by Mark Spinks, Babana reconnects Aboriginal men with their culture, community, employment opportunities and health services. I worked with Babana as part of Jawun - a not-for-profit organisation that forges relationships between Corporate Australia and a range of Indigenous organisations in communities across Australia. It’s a classic example of the old “teach a man to fish” proverb and my role also included skills transfer. Commitment to communities is an important part of KPMG’s business values and strategy. To date, 124 colleagues have participated as Jawun secondees, working more than 20,000 professional hours with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across the country.

There are a number of reasons I did this. I live in Sydney and have two small boys and

believe it’s important that they see their Dad as an active participant in the community

contributing to the public good. Prior to this I had not had much exposure to Aboriginal

people or culture so I was keen to learn more. Finally, my exposure to Redfern, like

most people in Australia, was based on coverage in the media which tends to focus on

tensions and conflicts in the community so I was keen to see for myself what it was like.

The opportunity to apply my business skills to assist an organisation like Babana who do

great things for Aboriginal people in the heart of the city made a lot of sense to me.

During those four weeks I found a vibrant and strong community that actively supports

each other. Whilst finalising details for the new premises, I was provided desk space at

Tribal Warrior and met many great people like Artie Beetson and Yvonne Goolagong-

Cawley, but most importantly I saw a community that was in control of their destiny.

The local area police commander would turn up three times a week at 6am for a boxing

class with the local young men, as would the local Westpac branch manager. The

leaders of Babana: Mark, Jeremy Heathcote and Ray Minniecon, would be available for

whoever needed them. Redfern was in so many ways like a small country town in the

heart of the city where everyone knows and looks out for each other. We also managed

to find a premises for Babana and execute an agreement with The Department of

Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to provide employment

services for the Aboriginal community.

Since my secondment, I have stayed connected with the Redfern community through

Babana. I have participated in NAIDOC week events, attended men’s group meetings

and arranged for KPMG to continue to support Babana with business accounting

services. I talk to Mark Spinks regularly and am proudly passionate about Babana,

Redfern, Jawun and KPMG - a firm that has afforded me this opportunity and is seriously

committed to Indigenous Australia.

James Mabbott – KPMG Director.

Babana Supporter Profile:

The management committee of the Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group would like to express our thanks to an individual who has been supporting us for over a year. As everyone knows the sport of Cycling has gone through a rough time of late, but there are professional sports people out there who are dedicated to the sport. Many people associated with our group might not know but the Chairman Mark Spinks is a former State and Australian Champion of the sport of Cycling. Brad Hall from Team Plan B Racing and has supported us each and month and we have decided to provide him with an honoree membership for the dedication and support he provides. This is the first part of our profile on Brad Hall A holiday to Europe first saw me gain a real interest in cycling. Previously I had spent a year doing triathlons for fun, but due to the load bearing nature of running my body quickly broke down: shin splints, Illiotibial band syndrome and Patella femoral complaint. Thus I was not destined to run even though I enjoyed it immensely. I bought a plain aluminum frame from a small cycling shop in Geneva and spent the afternoons after work riding up the French Dura mountains. Epic countryside, epic culture…epic saddle sores!

Started racing 2003

After coming back from Europe I realized that cycling was something I could grow to enjoy, this was also realized by the introduction of chamois cream to my repertoire. Under the watchful eye of Ryan Suckling-HEALTHSPEC TRAINING- I began a 15hr/week training program that aimed to have me racing A-grade in Perth as soon as capable. First race was the infamous Canning Vale criterium put on by the Melville Fremantle Cycling Club in B-Grade. It took me several months to be able to actually achieve a result in B-Grade, but after several 2nd placing’s in the larger races I decided to make the jump to A-grade.

A-grade racing 2003

Oh Momma! The jump from B to A-grade racing was a massive step up for me. I remember thinking, ‘they really need an A-minus grade before one takes the leap to Perth’s top level. After about a year of trying I remember cracking big time! I took several months off thinking that my cycling aspirations were done and dusted, ‘I’m not good enough’.

A-grade racing (revisited)

Eventually I began to diddle doddle around on the bike again. I loved the freedom it gave me. I started to race again and barely managed to finish the A-Grade criteriums (crits). I started to consult the more experienced riders as to, ‘what I should be doing’ and ‘how is it humanly possible for the hitters (Eddie Hollands, Hilton McMurdo, Stevie Harcourt, Ryan Suckling, Shaun O’Neill, Phil Riemann, Chris Beeck, Nathan Jones, etc) to

go so hard so often. The most common reply was, ‘They’ve been doing it for a long time…’ Coach Ryan always told me that cycling is a ‘five year plan’. It takes this long to really get the gains needed to start achieving in this sport. So I kept on keeping on, hoping for a day where I could just fly…..

First pro race 2004

Tour of South China Sea UCI 2.2. This event saw many of the better neo-professionals arrive in Hong Kong for a one week stage race. The weather was cold and nasty with 100km crits the order of most days. This race saw me finish toward the back most days, where I could honestly say that I did not see the front of the bike race for the entire duration of the event. Eventually my physiology gave way to intensity and a repetitive hamstring injury flared up and forced me out of the race half way through…. Cycling-the school of hard knocks. From this race I went to the national titles were I was comprehensively thrashed by a quality field. My injury had prevented me from riding for several weeks between the tour and nationals, but to be honest I was in no shape, (be it with or without the injury), to be lining up against Australia’s best. So back to Perth and back to training for the day that I feal like an A-Grader.

2005 a belgium stint

During this year sat down with coach Ryan and proclaimed my intention to ride cobbles and crosswinds in Belgium, admittingly I had no idea that either of these aspects of Belgium racing would be so demanding. I trained hard for several months in Perth while also racing for Team Riders Choice. Great times.

They were all of guys that I looked up to and so I learned a lot from riding with Ryan, Rhys and Phil. Criteriums were the boys legacy, except for Rhys who was a solid diesel performer and could do the lion’s share of the work when needed. Finally Belgium came around and with my form starting to show glimpses of A-Grade ability (10th in the front group at the 100km title), I went to Belgium to discover a world of hurt and pain. The first 6 weeks saw me consistently get my head kicked in. I didn’t even need crosswinds or cobbles to go out the arse… No, I was able to achieve this at any given moment during the Kermises (Flemish for Festival or Fete). Luckily my Host was sympathetic to my cause; Reinhardt was an ex-professional bike rider and helped me keep my head on.

So after a week of lounging around feeling sorry for myself I was back on the bike, back getting my head kicked in, but setting realistic goals for myself that saw me claim a victory if I came to 75%, 85% then 95% of the bike race. Eventually I was finishing these races with my best result a 12th.

2005 have another go…

After some down time I was back in the saddle, back in Perth and back to A-Grade racing. Except this time I realized I could do more than just follow the race. Every now and then I could dictate to the race.

The state road title around Rollystone consisted of a 160km race up and down-around Pete Rd and proved to be a massive challenge to all riders. Hills were not my thing, but they were well within Rhys Sherborn’s ability as he was crowned state road Champion. This was a feat that he earned in his own right, early hours of training at 4.30am before doing an 8hr day back at the office, but one in which my efforts helped him achieve.

A great day of team work and an awesome ride by one of WA’s most gentlemanly riders. With my 5th place I realized that with continued effort I may just one day win this event.

Riding pro races in asia 2006

Hilton, Eddie, Darren Harry, Steve Mouritz and JB introduced me to the rigors of Asian professional racing. I asked if I could do some racing with this City of Perth team and was given an opportunity to race with some of WA’s best cyclists. Fortune and hard work resulted in me claiming a top ten finish at the first race, Tour of Thailand UCI 2.2. The guys efforts in keeping me protected all tour resulted in me claiming 6th spot after one great day of climbing in the saddle. From this race, I competed in another UCI 2.2 race; Tour of South China Sea, where Nathan Jones went on to finish in the top 5 overall, while I supported his cause and also managed a top 5 on one stage. This year gave me the confidence to see that a 5 year plan may have some worthy merit.

Le velo c’est merde 2006

Nathan Jones had managed to get me a start in a small French team for 3 months of this year. I arrived and was training well and with the first race came my first serious crash. Over the handle bars on a decent down an embankment with my arm out and twist go the tendons-ligaments around my AC joint. Stretched ligaments REALLY hurt! it took a month before I could function without pain killers, I worked my form back up and managed to get some top ten results in some of the local crits. Good enough for me to warrant coming back the next year.

France 2007

Back to Velo Club Castellsarrasin for an entire year of racing. Or more like getting ones head kicked in. With my consistent progression in training and racing over the 06-07 summer I thought that 2007 would be a year for international results. WRONG. France taught me that no matter how good you are going there is always some place where you can totally get your head kicked in. And I had found such a place in the south of France. The big elite category races were just sooo hard, tooo hard. Incredible form from incredible athletes. But I had a house full of younger budding athletes and one Nathan Jones living out of my pantry so I was well support by them and also my long term girlfriend Gypsy. It was around this time I also discovered the importance of another when you are so isolated from familiar surroundings and getting your head kicked in. Gypsy was heaven sent. As too were the boys. Instead of being a pure bike rider I turned to illegal fruit picking around the greenish flowing valleys of southern France. There were some results this year, but many more disappointments as I realized that cycling only gets harder the further you want to go.

This will be continued in our next newsletter – if you wish to read more about Brad please visit his website http://bradhall.com.au

Feature Articles

National Apology Editorials

13th February 2008 the Apology – A Day of History Making, but what now? – David Pross The Apology was read at 9am to the minute, as the first action of the second sitting day of the 42nd Parliament of Australia and watched by millions. What affect did the apology to the Stolen Generation have on me? It brought back memories of being taken away from my family to an institution for near two years, it brought back the memory of the murder of one of my comrades because of a bashing there. But as I looked around at the hundreds gathered at Edogawa Gardens on the Central Coast I could see the Aunties and Uncles crying, along with young Koori’s and non-indigenous supporters. I was also emotional; it had finally been said SORRY. But being cynical I thought is this just lip service we are always been thrown, or does Rudd and his cronies really mean this. Thoughts going through my head whilst Rudd was reading, Labor was always critical of the Liberals for the intervention, now finally they are apologizing are they going to cease it. This new partnership on closing the gap will set concrete targets for the future: within a decade to halve the widening gap in literacy, numeracy, employment outcomes and opportunities for Indigenous Australians. K Rudd 13 February 2008

What has changed those in power are abusing or peoples of the north and west, the intervention has increased under Labor, we are still way behind in education and employment, and now the IEP has been put on hold, some IEP providers have been told they will not be given, (that is if given) a new contract to May this year. So what does that mean? Does it mean Aboriginal people have no right to gain employment, Jenny Macklin states that there are other organisations handling these matters, yeah and we know the outcomes very few Aboriginal people getting gaining positions. If the organisations get participants, enrolled into courses or work experience there is no back up, in travel, clothing or general support, I was told personally this by students whilst delivering a course at TAFE on the Central Coast, it appears these organisations are not interested in real jobs, but just the money names on enrolments bring in. Closing the gap, Yeah, in many areas has not only not improved but got wider, I spoke about this on Closing The Gap Day on Clarke Island, and numerous people from Aboriginal organisations, come over and said they agreed with what I had said they are struggling alone, or very little input from government.

Babana being one of these, no government assistance running on a smelly oil rag, but what we have we own, and what we have done we have done it by hard work and partnerships with some amazing people and organisation, no federal or state handout.

We Babana should be proud of our chairperson who has arranged most the funding to keep us afloat, and not to forget our secretary who has assisted him.

As I have said I am still cynical of the apology, did Rudd and his government mean it or were they just shoving it into Howard and Nelson’s face, to me it looks the later as we do not seem to be improving, land rights falling apart, health still on the decline, employment opportunities by IEP’s at a stand- still, incarceration into the prison and detention institutions rising, home ownership a joke, and the list goes on. I do not think I am alone on this, over the period of 2010 and 2011 I conducted a 105 video interviews around the hunter from the Aboriginal community, for the Hunter Institute of TAFE, with the participants ranging from students to professors at Universities, aunties uncles community leaders, they were asked about their life and their thoughts on education, and the betterment TAFE and other institutions could provide. During these recordings topics of health, education employment, housing, imprisonment and self-determination always arose, and it always came back to it is not or it is worse, hardly any mention of the gap being closed, they like me are cynical, but like me have hope there will be a much better future.

SORRY – Robert Pankhurst

What affect did the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to the Stolen Generation have on me? As a non indigenous person, though I have progressed through several stages of Aboriginal lore, I can find no significant Aboriginal blood flowing in my veins. I was deeply moved by the apology and also saddened that this type of situation happened at all but it did happen not only to Aboriginal children but non indigenous children as well. As a matter of fact it happened to some of my ancestors though not in the same way. They were hijacked from their homes and families in England and Ireland, tried by jury on trumped up charges and sent out to this land 12000 miles from all they were used to work as slave labour. I am glad of this though as it has allowed me to be born in this land where some of the people I am proud to call my brothers have occupied since time immemorial. I was moved to tears during the apology speech by the old People in the audience, people of my own era, I am seventy two years of age, these people were openly crying even though they were hugging each other because they were the people who had seen it happen to them or their friends or other people that they knew. One of my brothers has told me of the long trips to school in the back of an old truck and of the police and welfare officers arriving at school sometime during the day and taking children away, the children were all terrified because it might be their turn. Then of the long trip home after school in the same truck to break the news to the mother of the stolen child who of course was devastated but could not do anything about it except wail and bang her head until she was bleeding. This was of course carried out by the office of the ‘Protector of Aborigines’. Had they had any idea of ABORIGINAL CULTURE they would have seen the lunacy in these proceedings. Now the same thing happened to white children, some were even taken at birth from teenage mothers and the poor mother was never even allowed to hold her baby. The usual excuses were given that the mother could not look after the baby, the family would not be able to care for the child etc. These children however were usually put into foster homes where they received love and support and other white children who were taken by child welfare went into children’s homes where they received quality education and usually a Christian religious education. When these children reached the age to leave their institutions they could integrate back into white society with little or no difficulty. The same was not true for Aboriginal children, they were often put into hostels run by religious organisations and the boys put to menial farm or labour work whilst the girls were employed in waitress / house maid work.

Often different sex sibling went to different institutions. They were given education mainly of a basic nature because they were usually not considered intelligent enough for anything but menial work, their spiritual education was the doctrine of the religious group who ran the hostel and none of their traditional spiritual beliefs or cultural heritage was spoken of. When these children returned home to their home and families they were outcasts as they had never learnt any of the stories and culture that the children who had not been taken had learnt. If the Government had known any of the Aboriginal culture about the importance of country and family maybe the stolen generation would never had occurred in the way it was done. In the Aboriginal family group a child is never alone; all adult males are considered father or uncle and the women mother, sister or aunty regardless of any blood relationship to the child which is totally different to European custom. Unfortunately children, indigenous or white children, are still being removed from families in this modern age but not in the same circumstances endured by THE STOLEN GENERATION. What can be done in the future to ensure that this does not happen again? I think the answer to this question can be summed up in one word; RECONCILIATION. We all have to get the chip of our shoulders about anything that has happened in the past because we cannot change that but no one white or black must ever forget what has happened in the past as has happened in other countries with subjects that are considered ‘delicate’. Our school education programs must contain more Australian history with an emphasis on our sometime sordid past in dealings with Aboriginal people. Some of the Aboriginal heroes of the revolution should also be taught about along with MacQuarie, Bligh and Philip, who has ever heard of Pemulway, Djandamurra, Bungarie etc. If we all pull together in the one direction we can give the Aboriginal people living in poverty and degradation a hand out of the situations they are in which in a lot of cases is caused by the lack of education of their plight in the city areas where people will gladly give millions of dollars to refugees in Somalia whilst our own people are living in old cars on the banks of the Darling. Aboriginal youth can often not see any hope of breaking the mold as there are no jobs in their towns and they often resort to alcohol, petrol sniffing and crime. The way is getting a bit clearer for some with men’s and women’s groups and police becoming involved in youth programs and educational institutions giving indigenous scholarships and as a result of this input these young people will be the leaders of their groups in the future. We are all Australians whether we have been here six months or sixty thousand years so it is in all our interests to ADVANCE AUSTRALIA FAIR and get on with it.

New College Trip to Bourke NSW

Sarah Hyland, a fifth year Nura Gili student studying a Bachelor of Commerce at the Australian School of Business UNSW shares her experience:

I was very lucky to be included as a last minute member of the New College group who travelled to Bourke last week. The rare opportunity for young people to connect and be welcomed by a remote community was something we all grabbed with open arms, and as a team we sure learnt a lot. We spent the week as volunteers at the local PCYC for its school holiday program. The Managers, Jake and Tareka run a structured daily timetable to keep the kids entertained. With our enthusiasm in tack we were able to lead many of the activities and contribute to the structure of the week, giving Jake and Tareka the opportunity to focus more of their time and energy on planning and administrative work. The trip took the form of everything we could have expected and more. From a cultural perspective, we were welcomed by the land and its people, we were inquisitive, and our questions were openly answered allowing us to have many meaningful conversations about Aboriginal Australia in the past and what it is like today. From a development perspective, true friendship and camaraderie was born within minutes of us leaving Sydney. Our team truly learnt the art of being flexible and adaptive to situations out of our control. Our ability to communicate under pressure was tested time and again. Leadership was seen in a new light, and as equals we all contributed something very unique and valuable to the week. And finally, from a community perspective we were able share freely our positive energy and lay the foundations for a great relationship with the Bourke community, its PCYC and New College. I sincerely hope that this relationship grows and becomes stronger in the years to come. After all, I can’t think of much more that truly epitomises being a New Collegian like this does.

Weaving Our Way Out West with the Red Dust – Rebecca Harcourt

47.8 degrees Celsius peaked on our arrival- a cool one then, here in the Ngemba Nation. Mid-morning, day before, we’d started making tracks, eight New College students, Aunty Ali and I. Fires, heat, dehydration, brown snakes, dust storms, all potential hazards had made the risk assessment a treat. So far so good; lunch with photos snapped at the Three Sisters, travelling via Dunedoo the birth place of our student President, Ross, who took us down memory lane of his childhood and pet wombat. Changing drivers, forgetting the fuel gauge, its light burning bright fifty km from Dubbo, downhill runs welcomed. Laughter with talk of our survival strategies and packs gave us the heart to reach our destination with ease, checking out the ice creams compartments at the petrol station our new found air-conditioned stream. Dubbo caravan park, pool temperature only a few degrees less than the open air, we still shivered as we walked back to our cabins to go get our tea. Morning came; Uncle Mal and his wife Jill joined us, reunited with his Aunty after many years, the yarns and laughter soared. Recipes for meals prepared by the students made good stock; food purchased at the local supermarket well below the budget’s cost. Circus theme relayed, ‘Spotlight’ became the new haven, where wigs and material for creative clowns purchased to shape this week’s PCYC Bourke summer program’s entourage. Crash, Cuddles and Stiches, examples of New College students’ nicknames translated easily as Clowns, and our students: studying commerce, law, medicine development studies and computer science perhaps wondering what they were in for. Arriving in Nygnan, we pondered the heat rising, wondering if we’d really notice the difference between forty-three degrees and forty-eight; two hours later, arriving in Byrock, no doubt remained with the heat slicing through us as we walked and stood by the Byrock sign. Inside Mulga Creek Hotel, cooling down, the first green frogs spotted. For Aunty Ali, this was the first time back to Byrock in 45 years, black and white photos on the wall she shared more treasured stories. We welcomed the opportunity to intimately witness living history from her life where at her Mother’s funeral in Taree, Biripi Country, on seeing the shiny black cars approach,

her father and family had whisked her and her younger sister Judy in sheaf bags to live safely with her Dad out here in the far west. Pea picking, the old Byrock primary school, fettlers, country songs, admirers, working at the hotel, lifts back by the local policeman in the side car of his motorbike, praying as he ripped around the corners wondering if the side car would turn round or keep drifting on ahead. Swimming in the sacred water holes in Byrock, a place we could cherish with her on our journey home. These were some of the memories Aunty Ali revisited and shared with us. Next stop awaiting us: January in Bourke, I’d always ducked summer months out here before. Locals manage it, taking it in their stride, a soaring dry heat, peaking every day around five o’clock. How did people manage – years ago and today? Wet towels round your necks, flannels to wet a baby’s head and body whilst resting in the shade, feet deep in the mud in the Darling river, catching yabbies under the shelter of the trees, resting, yarning, catching fish, slow and steady through the heat. Air conditioning turned full blast, your legs up on the couch chilling at home as best you can. No running round on these days; only went out when you had to. Sunday evening, we landed in North Bourke. With the incessant heat of the weekend introductions with our hosts Jake and Tareka were brief, they would host a breakfast at PCYC Bourke in the early morning. Thankful for their generosity and the air-conditioning turned on earlier in our accommodation, we ate, swam and bunked down in the cool respite of our respective cabins. Monday arrived and our time PCYC Bourke summer program began. Stories shared, we learnt much, professionally and personally, from our hosts, Jake, from the Wiradjuri Nation and his wife Tareka an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman, about their journey to Bourke and the running of the PCYC as they introduced us to the guidelines and foundation of the summer program with the local kids aged 5 through to 12. Lisa Harrison, PCYC Bourke President welcomed us on her way to work at Richmond PRA, with her strong community leadership and links she would also play a pivotal role our engagement throughout the week. Hidden away upstairs we began our transformation into clowns, PCYC kids spotting us through the upstairs window during roll call. Aunty Ali shared a dreamtime story and I couldn’t resist sneaking looks through the door with Tareka whispering: ‘not yet, not yet Bec’. On cue, the New College students flew down the stairs, introducing themselves and making an impressive entrance with one of the New College freshers’ dance, music blaring out the speaker with requests from the PCYC kids for backflips and tricks.

Throughout the week, the activities with the PCYC kids transpired into an eclectic mix from indoor cricket, scrap booking, painting, swimming, basketball, singing and frying johnny cakes. Fiona taught us the rules of Boorangin a traditional footy game so the students could play with the kids. On Tuesday, a much welcomed respite from the summer heat for the kids with a trip to the water parks at Lightening Ridge. As we travelled we continued to discover the friendliness and remoteness of out west. Stopping at Brewarrina we visited the fish traps the oldest in the world, the beauty of the landscape inviting us in to sit and steep our feet into the mud by the river. In the Cultural Centre with its gallery of photos we had the chance to learn Baiames Ngunnh, the traditional story about these old fish traps. Throughout the week we worked alongside PCYC workers and volunteers, all sharing and teaching us about the kids and living in Bourke. We met Elder Maxine Mackay, a Ngarrindjeri woman who’d lived her whole life in Bourke. An evening spent with Maxine and Lisa gave our students a chance to learn more about the local history and how this impacts on the lives and contemporary realities for the Community today. Friday morning, Aunty Ali shared Tiddalik a Dreamtime story where she invites the kids to enact the characters and Corkey held back his laughter as he played dear old Tiddalik. Our final evening up on Mt Oxley our group accompanied by Aunty Dot and her family; Jake, Tareka with their four month old Mataika and Lisa with two of her colleagues at Richmond PRA. The landscape serenaded us all as we yarned, ate and celebrated across the generations; Aunty Dot and Aunty Ali rekindling their friendship after 46 years, remembering their young days as teenagers. Our week with PCYC Bourke volunteering as part of their summer program had come about from our connections, integrated history across our lives, friendships, community relations and professional endeavours all weaving their way to bring this new experiences across generations, diverse cultures and lives, harnessing a generosity of human spirit and understanding; where laughter, stories, understanding, respect, integrity, collaboration, resilience, hope and dreams flourished. Everyone gave and shared their skills and experience and learnt new ones in an open, honest environment where all our energy created a foundation of trust and many memories and friendships made, rekindled in the foot-steps we traced where our ancestors once stood. Seeds are now sowed, some healing taken place, time will reveal where these will reap.

New College students Matthew Cork, Ben Cummins, Tim Curtain, Sarah Hyland, Makenzie Russel, Khierah Salam, Ross Willing and Matt Zaidan accompanied by Aunty

Ali Golding, Elder in Residence at UNSW Faculty of Medicine & 2010 recipient of the National NAIDOCC Elder of the Year Award and I travelled to Bourke in January 2013. When New College students Dan May, Ross Willing, Matt Zaidan approached me in early 2012 with a student initiative to create ties with New College and an Aboriginal Community in Regional NSW, I offered to facilitate links between New College and my community connections in Bourke recommending they approach Jake and Tareka in the first instance about the possibility of being involved with the PCYC programs as a starting point to build a reciprocal relationship between New College and Bourke. I first went to Bourke in early 2011 to work with Lisa Harrrison and the local community, when Lisa was the Engagement Officer in Bourke for SAFE Families. Through this I met and worked with Jake Chatfield, Manager of PCYC Bourke and Tareka Whaleboat, Youth Worker Coordinator at PCYC Bourke when they first arrived in Bourke in the September school holidays and have witnessed the positive transformation at PCYC Bourke – both facilities and the programs -through their leadership. This trip is the latest affiliation between UNSW and the Aboriginal Community in Bourke. In 2011 the Australian School of Business invited local Elder and CEO Aunty Olga from Culgoa Dreaming to present and work with Marketing honours students. A special thank you is also given to Carol Vale, who talked with New College students in 2012 as part of our preparation sessions.

Australian Cultural Astronomy

Dr Duane Hamacher Lecturer – UNSW Astronomy Educator – Sydney Observatory

Look up at the sky tonight and you will see some of the most famous stars and constellations directly overhead. To the north-northeast, you will see the Seven Sisters star cluster, known to astronomers as the Pleiades. Moving to the right you will see the largest planet, Jupiter, then the horns of Taurus the bull, comprised of a V-shape of stars in the cluster known as the Hyades. The end of one of those horns is a bright red star called Aldebaran. Look closely to the star further down on the horn and you can see it is actually two stars very close together. Further to the right, you can see Orion the Hunter, with the Saucepan in the middle. Of course, Orion makes little sense in Australia, since he is standing on his head! Keep looking across that part of the sky towards the west and you’ll see the brightest star in the sky (excluding the planets) – Sirius, or the dog-star. It is part of the constellation Canis Major, meaning Big Dog. Turn and look to the south and you’ll see the Southern Cross upside down to the southeast flanked by the Pointers to the south. The brighter of the two Pointer stars, the one furthest from the Southern Cross, is the closest star to our solar system – Alpha Centauri. It is actually a triple star system. One of the stars was recently found to have an earth-sized planet, but it is too close to its star to harbor life. These are the things I normally tell people when giving a tour of the sky. But there is something missing with this explanation - something that makes sense here in Australia. Why discuss Orion, Taurus, and Canis Major if they are all upside down?! What do these stories from a far away land have to do with local traditions? Indigenous Australians have been looking at the stars and making sense of them for tens of thousands of years. They served as a map in the sky. They told people when the seasons were changing, when it was time to move camp, when new food sources were ready, and when animals would start rearing their young. It also served as a textbook for laws, customs, and traditions. Like the ancient Greeks and Romans, the stars told about deities and culture

heroes, of battles and romances, of relationships and betrayals, of ceremonies and taboos. Dreaming stories explained how the moon controlled ocean tides, described the causes of eclipses, and told why the sun rose and set at different places on the horizon at different times of the year. These stories were passed down through generation after generation for eons. This is the second realm to which I take people on a tour of the sky: the world of Australian Indigenous astronomy. Because many things in the sky visible from Australia are not visible from many places in the northern hemisphere, such as the Southern Cross, Pointers, the False Cross, or the Magellanic Clouds, many of the sky stories are quite unique to Australia. But many uncanny similarities exist. For example, most cultures in the world associate the Pleiades with a group of women, usually sisters, which are seven in number. And the stars that make up the Greek constellation of Orion are often seen as a man or group of men, many times hunters, that chase the women across the sky. The reason for this is unknown. The Aboriginal constellation of the Emu is not traced out by stars, but by the dark spaces within the Milky Way. The head of the emu is the Coalsack nebula by the Southern Cross. The neck extends through the Pointers and the body of the emu is seen as the middle of the Milky Way galaxy – called the galactic bulge. When the celestial emu rises above the horizon in the early autumn skies, the emus on earth begin building their nests. As the emu is high in the sky in the evening, the emus are laying their eggs. What is interesting is that this view is not unique to Australia. In northern Bolivia, South America, the Indigenous people see this shape as that of an ostrich – a flightless bird very similar to an emu. In Peru, it is seen as a llama. Research at the Nura Gili Indigenous Centre at the University of New South Wales seeks to learn more about the role of astronomy in Aboriginal cultures of Australia. Future work is also in the planning stages that will investigate astronomy in the Torres Strait, which was a very significant aspect of Islander culture. A wealth of new information is emerging form this research and if you would like to learn more, visit the Aboriginal Astronomy Blog at http://aboriginalastronomy.blogspot.com.au/.

Future Map

Alisdair Barr

Happy New Year

For some that sentence oozes expectation, for others it evokes a sense of anticipation

and excitement.Its mid-late Jan. Who do you resemble?

A) Ah I’ve set goals before, they haven’t worked, this year I didn’t bother B) I set goals this year but I’m battling already C) I’m kicking goals big time D) My opinion on goalsetting is… we’d love to hear from you, send us an email! We at Future Map are firm believers in goal setting, at least giving a few small goals a crack. After all, if you don't know what you're looking for there's no chance you'll find it! To help we've put together an easy-to-follow goal setting and financial refresher EBOOK.

Feel free to download as many times as you like and share with your friends, work colleagues and family! Like to run a life planning and financial wellbeing program in your workplace? Introduce the Future Map program to your CEO, Director or HR Manager and receive a free 30 minute personalised coaching session. Check out the fun and dynamic Future Map workplace program here: www.futuremap.com.au.

Why teach financial literacy?

Financially educating Australians earlier in their career and long before they reach retirement has profound effect on the long term financial health and wellbeing of individuals, families, communities and the broader economy.

The Future Map programs were developed to assist organisations to better engage their talent through providing practical financial and life skills for their employees.

Specific organisational benefits include:

Improving retention of your key talent

Attracting the best people to your organisation

Enhancing your Corporate Social Responsibility position in improving the general health and wellbeing of the communities you and your teams live in

Alisdair Barr has held senior leadership roles for the last 10 years at Commo nwealth Bank of Australia. Having been responsible for leading large financial advice teams, Alisdair brings a depth of knowledge and understanding around the importance of consumer access to good quality information. Through Alisdair’s own personal career development, he has identified the single most important factor in delivering successful outcomes is talent management. Alisdair has recently completed his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at Australian Graduate School of Management based on improving Australia’s financial literacy.

Aboriginal Business – Spotlight

Red Cockatoo Australia Ltd.

Red Cockatoo Australia is a creative, and sustainable not for profit arts company. We work with Aboriginal artists to provide sustainable economic and social outcomes via the arts. Red Cockatoo Australia has generated over $ 50,000 income for Aboriginal artists. The aim of Red Cockatoo is to be Australia’s biggest supplier of environmentally friendly Aboriginal art gift cards, selling across the country and overseas. Australia's first environmentally friendly gift cards of Aboriginal Art.

Red Cockatoo Australia created gift cards for the local Aboriginal artists in the Blue Mountains to promote the artists, their artworks and their cultural stories on the backs of the cards. We are now working with over 100 artists in 5 communities including: Papunya Tjupi Arts ( Central Desert N.T. ) Warringarri Arts ( East Kimberley W.A. )

The gift cards serve as a promotion and marketing tool as well as providing a sustainable income for the artists involved.

Our gift cards are printed in partnership with the Environmental Printing Company and we have many beautiful designs. You can also “ print your own” cards with logos and unique Aboriginal artworks.

Some of the traditional cultural stories on the back of the gift cards have never been told in the public domain before. Sharing these stories is a great opportunity. To Order: Go to www.redcockatooaustralia.com.au or Email: redcockatooaustralia.com.au or Phone: 0416 628 908

Membership Forms

Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group requires under the Indigenous Corporation requirements to keep our membership updated. To be a member of the Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group you simply need to be a Male who is interested in seeing the best for the Redfern and Great Sydney Aboriginal community. Membership fees are $5 and payable at the Babana office - 72 Renwick Street Redfern. All members are required to renew their membership for 2013 – also ensure that you have read the membership conditions before you sign the form and pay your fees.

Babana Aboriginal Men’s Group Monthly Meeting:

Friday 22nd

February 2013

Babana will be holding our first meeting of 2013 at Club Redfern Meeting

room at 12noon.

Our meeting is a non-drinking event so those who are attending are asked

not to access the public bar at the times of the meeting. We thank Club

Redfern for allowing us access to the meeting.

Next Edition:

Our Next edition will come out early in March 2013. If you wish to contribute to our newsletter or have any upcoming events for February please email babana@babana.org.au