Acknowledging Country

Who are the Traditional owners of the land in THE Drysdale AREA?

For 25,000 years, the Wathaurong people (also known as the Wadda Warung people) have been the traditional owners of the 3,000 square miles of land that stretches along the coast of Victoria from the Werribee River to the Lorne peninsula and inland towards Ballarat. Their sacred emblem 'Bunjil' (Wedge-tailed Eagle) soars overhead in many of the other panels.

The Wathaurong people are part of the Kulin Nation of Aboriginal people and are a tribe (community) consisting of some 25 clans (family groups). The clans speak a related language and connect through culture, interests, totems, trading and marriage.

European squatters started to invade Wathaurong land in 1853. The Wathaurong resisted, often driving off or stealing sheep, leading to several massacres of Wathaurong people.

The Wathaurong community established the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative Ltd. in 1978 and registered it in 1980. The Co-operative aims to support the social, economic, and cultural development of Aboriginal people, particularly within the Geelong and surrounding areas.

What is a "Welcome to Country"?

For thousands of years, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have practiced protocols for welcoming visitors to their homeland – their Country.

Today, a Welcome to Country begins a meeting, speech or other formal event. It can take many forms including singing, dancing, smoking ceremonies or a speech in the hosts’ traditional language and/or in English. Traditional owners of the land offer a Welcome to Country, but so can Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to whom the traditional owners have given permission.

What do Aboriginal people mean by "Country"?

Professor Mick Dodson says:

“For us, Country is a word for all the values, places, resources, stories and cultural obligations associated with (an) area and its features. It describes the entirety of our ancestral domains. While they may all no longer necessarily be the title-holders to land, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are still connected to the Country of their ancestors and most consider themselves the custodians or caretakers of their land.”

The boundaries of each group’s or clan’s Country are defined clearly, despite the absence of visible borders such as fences. Someone wishing to enter another group’s or clan’s Country must ask their permission; and if permission is granted, the hosting group or clan must welcome the visitor/s and offer safe passage and spiritual protection during their journey. In return, visitors must respect the hosting group’s or clan’s rules and protocols while on their Country.

What is an "Acknowledgement of Country”?

An Acknowledgement of Country is a ritual associated closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s protocols known as a “Welcome to Country”.

In an Acknowledgement of Country, anyone (Indigenous or non-Indigenous) can show their respect for an area’s traditional owners and their continuing connection to their Country. Like a Welcome to Country, it is generally offered at the beginning of formal occasion.

There is no ‘formula’ for an Acknowledgement of Country. Often, however, it is a variation on the following words:

“I’d like to begin by acknowledging the (X) people of the (Y) nation - the traditional owners of the land on which we meet today and paying my respects to their elders past and present.

Why should we acknowledge Country?

Including indigenous people explicitly and specifically in formal events, symbols and rituals like Acknowledgements of Country recognises their particular connection to place and respects them as the traditional custodians of the land known now as Australia. It can help to end their exclusion from Australian history books, from the Australian flag, from the Australian anthem and, for many years, from Australian democracy. Indigenous people’s exclusion lies at the heart of the current disparity in health, wealth and well-being between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

Sources

• Common Ground: https://www.commonground.org.au
• Reconciliation Australia. https://www.reconciliation.org.au
• Clark, I. D. [1995] Scars in the Landscape: a register of massacre sites in western Victoria 1803 – 1859. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Studies. pdf. 169 – 175.

Relevant organisations

• Geelong One Fire Reconciliation Group: www.geelongonefire.org.au
• Reconciliation Australia: https://www.reconciliation.org.au/
• Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative : http://www.wathaurong.org.au/