Interactive Experiences Enjoyed by All at the Murrook Culture Centre

On Monday 21st August 3F and 3B students travelled to the Murrook Culture Centre.

“It was a long bus ride, so when we arrived we had our recess and broke into groups. After that we went to see a smoking ceremony. That’s what they do if someone dies, gets married or if a baby is born. Then the Indigenous guides, Chris and Steve sang a song about God while we watched the smoke. Chris taught us how to speak “Gutung” and it was fun.  After that we got to do some painting of Aboriginal art on canvas. We could choose to trace some animal stencils and do dot paintings. They looked great! Next, we had lunch and played on the oval. After lunch we went to see how didgeridoos were made and saw some Indigenous artefacts. The boys got to play the didgeridoos and the girls played the sticks.Then we got to do a funny dance and had our faces painted with white ochre. Last of all we got to throw returning boomerangs. It was super fun! We said goodbye to Chris and Steve and thanked them for having us. Then we went back to school on the bus. We had such a great day!” By Amelia B and Alarna M (3B)

“For the welcoming ceremony Steve put a fire on and added green leaves so it would produce a lot of smoke. They walked through the smoke and released all their bad energy. Then Chris said some words in Wallimia language then translated it into English for us.  For our painting activity we used mini canvas, paints, brushes and stencils to create our own little story with aboriginal dot art. It was interesting to see and hear all the different picture stories.  Then we learned a traditional dance, which required us to put on paint, learn the moves, show our friends. There are certain animals to their dancing as well the ones we learnt were the kangaroo and emu. Then we looked at different artefacts that were used in hunting, gathering and cooking, such as spears, plates and cutting down materials.  We were able to come up and choose our favourite artefacts. One of the kids chose an occer (Oh-ker) which makes different colours when rubbed against a rock (red, white and yellow). Red is for boys, yellow is for girls and white is for everyone.  We each got a turn at throwing a boomerang. There were three different types: returning, non returning and hunting boomerang. We threw two different sizes of returning ones, the big one was the easiest.” By Eva (3F)

Please click here for a selection of images from the day, on our Facebook Gallery.