Murat Dizdar

Hello, colleagues, it's Murat Dizdar here. I'd like to acknowledge that I'm coming to you from the beautiful homelands of the Bidjigal and Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, who are the Ongoing Custodians of the land on which our school here at Kingsgrove North High School is situated. I've just been on a school visit with our principal, Angelo Stasos, and his team.

A fine public education provision here, making a profound difference to close to 1,000 students each and every day.

I'd like to pay my respects to Elders past and present as ongoing teachers of knowledge, of songlines, and stories. I also want to extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities across NSW.

Last year, the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust launched the very first annual NSW Aboriginal Languages Week. It aims to raise awareness about Aboriginal languages, increase support for language revitalisation and reclamation, and celebrate the achievements made so far.

Our public schools and wider communities have been supporting the revitalisation of Aboriginal language and culture in many ways. It's a great honour to be able to see the teaching and learning of language and culture from early years to post-schooling and beyond, and to acknowledge the important role that Aboriginal community organisations and groups play in this.

Together with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, our staff have created some great resources to help our schools with their NSW Aboriginal Language Week activities. I'm encouraging all of you to access these throughout the department website.

Today we kick off our video series with a beautiful Dreamtime story about the Rainbow Serpent on Dunghutti Country, narrated by Elder Robert Smith. I am looking forward to participating in school and community events during NSW Aboriginal Languages Week this year, and celebrating the wisdom, knowledge, and hard work that keep languages alive and culture thriving for future generations to come.

Robert Smith (Uncle Bob)

Yawayi! Gadan Bob, Uncle Bob here, all the way from Kempsey, Barri Dunghutti (Dunghutti Country).

I'm here to tell you the story of Dhulawang Girin, the Rainbow Serpent.

Yes, it's a beautiful sight. Yet millions of years ago, way back in the Dreamtime, all of this had no colour. The whole of Barri Dunghutti (Dunghutti Country) had no colour. Then one day, a great snake visited Dunghutti Country. And as it retired from its long trip, it started to make a resting place for itself in the earth.

It dug up the soil to make its resting place, but as it did so, water gushed up from the ground. The snake was astounded. He jumped back, thinking, "Wow, I think I've hurt Mother Earth, and I've made her cry."

Then there was this soft, whispering voice. "It's all right, my child. I want to give you a gift." Again, the snake was astounded. "A gift?” “The gift of colour. And I want you to share this colour across Dunghutti Country, Barri Dunghutti." So, the snake looked at himself, his plain colour, blank.

Mother Earth touched him, and he slowly watched his body change. As he did so, all the colours of the rainbow swept through his body. He was amazed at the beautiful colours.

Mother Earth then said, "Go now, my son, go and do as I've asked. Share these colours across Barri Dunghutti (Dunghutti Country)." So, the snake moved off. And as he moved across Country, he dug up great mounds of earth, and stones, and furrows. All these eventually turned into our mountains, our hills, our creeks, our waterfalls, our rivers, all the way down to Yalaanggurr, the sea.

He made his way back to where he started. He spoke to Mother Earth, he said, "I think I've destroyed the country." Mother Earth replied, "No, look, look around." The snake looked around and was astounded once again at the beautiful colours that he had left behind where he had travelled across Barri Dunghutti.

The snake said, "I'm tired, Mother Earth." Mother Earth responded, "Well, let's find you a resting place where you can rest for as long as you wish."

So, Mother Earth found him a spot here at Apsley Falls, where we have his resting place. But she also said, "You’ll need some room to move." So he furrowed underground, he went about 20 kilometres upstream to a place known as Walcha Mill Hole, and that’s where he was able to share his colours as well.

So, between Mill Hole and Apsley Falls, the Rainbow Serpent was able to move and share those colours, which eventually shared right across Dunghutti Country. To this very day, if you come at the right time and look at Apsley Falls, you might get the opportunity to see, in the mist of the falling waters, glimpses of the Rainbow Serpent. You may catch sight of the magnificent colours of the rainbow that the Rainbow Serpent left behind for all the people of Dunghutti Country to share.

[End transcript]

Ray Ingrey

Naggangbi ngayagang Ray Ingrey biyangangay NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, bidiagalgulli nguranhung ngalamangay, gamaringay dharawallanga.

Hi, my name is Ray Ingrey. I'm the President of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group. I'm here on the lands of the Habitable family group and I speak to you in Dharawal.

I acknowledge the various countries throughout NSW and pay my respects to your old people that have gone before us and that are still with us today. I want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work of Aboriginal communities who are revitalising their first language to ensure that our children grow up with a strong cultural identity, but also to share that amongst the wider community so that people get a true insight into the world's oldest living culture.

NSW Aboriginal Languages Week is in its second year. It commemorates the passing of the NSW Aboriginal Languages Act in 2017 by the NSW Parliament. NSW is the only jurisdiction that has dedicated legislation to not only protect and preserve Aboriginal languages, but make sure that communities are front and centre when it comes to revitalising and reusing their traditional languages.

In today's video, you'll get a small window into the great work that's been done across NSW. We're heading to Gumbaynggirr Country where Aunty Lesley Green and old Micklo Jarrett is going to take us through some of the good work they're doing to continue from their old people in revitalising and reusing Gumbaynggirr language.

Uncle Micklo Jarrett

My life, my days revolve around language. There's not one day goes by where I am speaking language or teaching language to someone. When I walk through town, especially in Bellingen or anywhere in Nambucca [Heads], right, I walk into a shop, I'll say “Giinagay, Darruy ngiina nyaagaygu Hello, it's good to see you.” And they don't know how to respond to me. So I will teach him. You say “Giinagay” back to me. “Darruy ngiina nyaagaygu waw It's good to see you also.” So I will, I will start teaching. And when I walk through the street and if you walk with me, there's people you could, I guarantee you, I'll say “Giinagay gagu” to they'll say “Giinagay gagu” back. Or I'll say “Giinagay gawa. Hello, Uncle.” And they'll say “Giinagay gawa” back.

As a Department of Education worker and as an Aboriginal Language and Culture teacher, I work with the AECG, which is the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, and I train and support Gumbaynggirr educators that go into the schools to teach. So I'm here at a place called Thora at a school called Orama, and today there's a educator up there doing some language work. Her name is Lesley, and I support Lesley to come into these schools and she teaches Gumbaynggirr language to these children. All stages from Kindergarten right through toYear 6. Lesley is beautiful teacher and she's brilliant the way she teaches.

Lesley Green

Giinagay Ngujawiny

Students

Giinagay Ngujawiny/Lesley

Lesley Green

Yaam darruy ngujalinya nyaagaygu Giinagay Gawa. Yilaaminda

Uncle Micklo Jarrett
Giinagay Ngujawiny Giinagay Ngujawiny or Giinagay Gamambi .

Lesley Green

That's OK. There we go. All righty. Yaam, yarrang, wawaa What's another landscape word?

Student

Bindarray.

Lesley Green

Bindarray. It's river. All right. Bindarray. We've been talking about animals. Who can tell me an animal name in Gumbaynggirr?

Student

Um mujaay.

Lesley Green

Darruy, mujaay.

Uncle Micklo Jarrett

Gumbaynggirr people when they're strong with language and they're strong with their culture, they are proud and they are - they know who they are. Not only Gumbaynggirr people are learning their language, it's non-Gumbaynggirr people. So that is also bridging the gap, bringing non-Gumbaynggirr and Gumbaynggirr people together so they can live together on Gumbaynggirr homeland. So they're all understanding and getting along together.

Ngiina nyaagaygu gangaagirr, baya maan.gu nginumbala May the ancestors be with you. Yaarri Yarraang.

[End transcript]

Uncle Roo

We acknowledge the barai.

Ready.

We acknowledge the barai.

We acknowledge the Moroko.

We acknowledge the Moroko.

We acknowledge the narrakal.

We acknowledge the Awabakal people.

Your turn, we acknowledge the Awabakal people.

Good job.

We acknowledge the baadhu Baadhu.

So today, friends, we're going to keep learning some of the things we learned about the last couple of weeks, which is our body parts.

All right?

So we're going to practise lots of those words here today.

And we're also going to sing our song and we're going to do our own little crazy creature.

And we're going to come back and finish with some games.

So before we do our song, let's practise our words.

Ready, Hands on heads.

Can we all say wolang?

**Uncle Roo:** Ready.

Let's see if you can do Uncle Roo.

Ready.

Wolang, Wolang.

Good job.

All right, let's go to our ears.

I'm gonna listen with our ears.

To our aunties all the time.

And our parents.

Can we always say Ngureyang?

All right, let's see if we can do it like Uncle Roo Ready.

Nice and nice and quiet.

Ready.

Let's do all this.

Ready, Ngureyang.

Oh, good job, friends.

Good job.

Let's go to our word for our eyes.

So we watch our TV with our eyes.

And we watch our iPads.

Can we also the word Ngaikang?

Good job.

Now can we all do this to Uncle Roo?

Watch Uncle Roo first, and then you do it after Uncle Roo.

Ready.

Watch me.

Ready, Ngaikang.

Oh, good.

Blinkers here.

And again, Ngaikang.

Ready.

Hands on heads.

Wolang, Ngureyang.

Ngaikang.

All right, let's get our toothbrush out like this.

Let's put some toothpaste on.

Big circles and say Tiira.

All right, let Uncle Roo take a photo with my big camera like this.

You're going to smile at this and say Tiira on three.

Ready, 123.

Tiira.

Beautiful smile, friends.

Beautiful smiling with your Tiira.

All right, so we've done Wolang.

We've done Ngureyang.

We've done Ngaikang.

We've done Tiira.

We've got to go to our word for our hands.

All right, so can we all say hands?

All right, now we're going to say the word in the Awabakal language ready after Uncle Roo.

Ready.

Listen up, Matara.

Ready.

Watch Uncle Roo.

Matara.

Matara.

All right, before you eat your lunch, you have to wash your Matara.

Good job, Matara.

All right, friends, let's go to our last word for today.

All right, can we all point to our feet?

Point to your feet and say Tina?

You put your wolang in, You put your wolang.

Yeah, you put your wolang in and you shake it all about.

You do the hokey pokey.

Then you turn around.

That's what it's all about.

Ready.

Whoa, the hokey pokey on the spot.

Ready.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

And that's what it's all about.

Yeah.

With Uncle Roo.

Ready.

You put your Ngaikang in.

You put your Ngaikang.

Yeah, you put your Ngaikang in and you blink it all about.

You do the hokey pokey.

Then you turn around.

That's what it's all about.

Nice and slow.

Nice and slow.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

And that's what it's all about.

Let's see if you can keep up with Uncle Roo.

Can you keep up with Uncle Roo?

Reckon.

You reckon, Enzo.

All right, let's stay on our spot.

Though, Archie.

Ready.

Let's go.

You put your tiira in.

You put your tiira out.

You put your tiira in.

And you brush it all about.

You do the hokey pokey.

Then you turn around.

That's what it's all about.

Left back.

Whoa, hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

And oh, good job.

Up we get.

Let's go.

You put your matara in.

You put your matara out.

You put your matara in.

And you clap it all about.

You do the hokey pokey.

Then you turn around.

That's what it's all about.

Whoa.

Whisper ready.

Whisper, whoa the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

And that's what it's all about.

You put your Tina in.

You put your Tina out.

You put your Tina in.

And you tickle it all about.

You do the hokey pokey.

Then you turn around.

That's what it's all about.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

Whoa, the hokey pokey.

And that's what it's all.

Now, the first thing I want you to do is do a big body.

All right, Uncle Roo gonna do one as well.

Let's do.

I wanna see 3 Wolang.

Ready, 123.

First, let's put a little bit of hair on your mut-- on your Wolang.

Put some hair on your Wolang, some spiky hair or curly hair or crazy hair.

All right, next one, friends, we're going to do.

We're going to do 6 Ngaikang right there.

Can someone tell me what Ngaikang is?

What's your Ngaikang?

Eyes?

We're going to do 6 eyes.

Friends, let's go 6.

Ngaikang 123456.

Let's do 4.

Four legs.

Let's do 4 legs.

Ready 1234.

All right, on the bottom of our legs.

We need to do some Tina.

All right, What's our Tina?

Our feet.

Let's do.

Let's do 8, Tina.

I reckon.

Let's do 8, Tina.

Ready, 123, 45678.

Good job.

Good job.

I reckon we're gonna go to our next one.

Can we all just do 2 arms?

All right, let's do 2 arms 1-2.

All right, let's do.

Let's do 6 Matara on our arms.

All right, we're gonna do 6 - 123456.

Good job.

Good job.

And our last one is our Ngureyang.

OK, The thing we listen with.

Good job, our ears.

Let's do 2 Ngureyang.

Alright.

And you can put them anywhere.

Your Ngureyang.

2 Ngureyang.

All right friends and I want you to put your lid on the texta and we're going to slowly walk back to our circle with our picture.

All right friends, like I said Uncle Roo said at the start we have to practice our words, sing our song, do our crazy creature, then we finish with the game.

OK so we have a pink and a blue.

So if Uncle Roo says hands on Wolang, what do we do, friends?

Good job, if Uncle Roo says Matara in the air.

What do we do?

If Uncle Roo says Matara on shoulders.

We do this.

If Uncle Roo says blue.

Do I grab this one, this one or this one?

This one's a blue one.

All right, let's put the balls in front of that, and let's put our Matara in the air.

So our balls on the ground in front of us, Matara on shoulders, Matara on knees.

Tickle your Tina, pink!

Oh, Uncle Roo was fast that time.

Archie was really fast then.

And let's put our Matara in the air.

Matara on your bellies, Matara on your knees.

Brush your Tiira, close your Ngaikang, open your Ngaikang, close your Ngaikang and blue!

Did you pick up the right ball?

**Uncle Roo:** Did.

So if I hit it with my hand, friends, can we say Matara?

All right?

If it hits my head, we're going to say Wolang, all right?

So uncle will be in the middle, and we've got to do soft taps like that.

If we do big hits, friends, it's going to hit the roof and it's going to go outside our circle, and that doesn't count.

We've got to keep it up for 20 seconds.

I've got my timer here ready to go.

And if we forget the word friends, we can say the word for our friends to help each other out.

Students

Jinggiwahla, Blagimirr.

I would like to acknowledge these lands upon which we meet here today and pay my respects to the Traditional Custodians, the Nerang River of the Bundjalung Nation.

We acknowledge and pay our respects to our Elders past, upon whose shoulders we are carried, our Elders present, who continue to guide and nurture us, culturally and spiritually, our emerging Elders and many of whom who are here meeting today.

Aunty Shanene

Jingeri I'm Aunty Shanene, I'm here at MLC teaching language. Today, we're going to start off our sentences in Bundjalung language.

Alright, Jingeri jarjum. How are we all today?

Students

Good.

Aunty Shanene

Good. Alright, we are going to go through our sentences today, so I'm going to say the sentence. I want you to repeat it, alright? Gali gurraman.

Students

Gali gurraman.

Aunty Shanene

Say it again. Gali gurraman.

Students

Gali gurraman.

Aunty Shanene

Remember, we want fluency. Gali gurraman.

Students

Gali gurraman.

Aunty Shanene

Bijang gurraman joolba.

Students

Bijang gurraman joolba.

Aunty Shanene

Which means 'little kangaroo jumping'. Bijang gurraman joolba.

Okay, so I want you to try and have a practice of saying this one with a partner and I want you to make sure that you say the words correctly. So, pronunciation is really important. So have a go at doing this one. N'gahn - gur wungah nyari? And answer, Ngay gala, 'your name'. Excellent!

Alright, do we want to have, have a little bit of a go at doing some of our matching games here. So just remembering as you are doing the matching to say the words so that we can put it all together. So we've got our animals here, we've got our animals there, then we've got our, our things over here. So, if you want to get down and have a little bit of a go, please do that.

Students

Bingin. Goyaan. Wagaan.

Aunty Shanene

Good job.

Teacher

Are we ready? Jargon. Winday. budaga budaga Budaga winday. Jargon budaga. You're out, Charlotte! winday. Jargon Budaga winday winday. You're out, Alicia!

10-second objects. Could I please have a Burribii in a jali? A Burribiibe in a jali. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 freeze. Our next one would be surfing on the Budagaawait, and along comes a wagaan.

Jingerri, Jingerri, Jingerri, Jingerri, Jingerri Jingerri Jingella witha behinj Jingella witha behinj Jinggiwahla, Blagimirr Jinggiwahla, Blagimirr Nynboo Nynboo Boogel Budjera, Boogel Budjera, Boogel Yawen, Boogel Yawen, Boogel Yawen Daa, Boogel Yawen Daa, Boogel Yelgun, Boogel Yelgun .

[End transcript]