MARIBYRNONG will be a hive of activity for this year’s Reconciliation Week.
A series of activities have been organised in the lead-up to a special evening titled On 45 with reconciliation pioneer Alf Bamblett,
president of the Aborigines Advancement League, Australia’s oldest indigenous organisation.
He has played a key role in shaping many Aboriginal community organisations in Victoria in the past 40 years and was one of the first Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll inductees.
He will be talking at On 45 about his story and his hopes for reconciliation.
Dr Bamblett will be joined by Nick Wight, of Surrender, speaking about significant leaders including one-time Footscray resident and Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll inductee, William Cooper.
Presented by the Maribyrnong Reconciliation Group and the Melbourne Indigenous Church Fellowship, On 45 is at the Church of Christ, 252 Gordon Street, Footscray, on June 3 from 6.30am-8.30pm.
■ A free, guided walking tour, Living off the Land, will be held from 2-4pm this Sunday. Participants will walk around streets and parks in Yarraville to explore how indigenous people, settlers and local residents have “gleaned” bush tucker, wild food, medicine, tools and other resources from today’s suburban landscapes. RSVP by Friday to Bonnie Grant on 96880200 or walking@maribyrnong.vic.gov.au.
■ Next Tuesday, ‘Let’s Talk Recognition in Braybrook’ is from 1.30-3.30pm at Braybrook Community Centre. An afternoon tea will recognise the contributions, cultures and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
■ ‘An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark’ will be held at West Footscray library until June 8. It revisits a 1951 Moomba performance that brought Aboriginal culture to the national stage.
