Three generations of women from the same family have been recognised at the Dungala-Kaeila writing awards for their poems, in a ceremony held at Mooroopna library.
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This is the first time three generations of women from the same family have been recognised at the awards.
The women, Elsie Anderson, who is the grandmother of Tanya Thomas, and Nevaeh Wroe, who is the daughter of Ms Thomas and great-granddaughter of Ms Anderson, belong to the Wemba Wemba, Boonwurung and Barapa Barapa nations.
Nevaeh said her award-winning writing was “horrible”, even though her family is proud of her for overcoming the challenge of her ADHD and autism to create a powerful poem called We Stand Together.
Her poem encapsulates the significance of solidarity between the many diverse Indigenous nations across Australia.
We Stand Together by Nevaeh Wroe
We stand above and beyond to fit this world,
Our culture has thrived for thousands of years,
Still we stand together,
We stand together tall and free,
Our culture for all to see,
We stand together,
We love to share our culture everywhere,
From north to west and south to east,
We stand together.
She was inspired by the First Nations objects around their house, like a didgeridoo that says “free the flag”.
Nevaeh’s mother Tanya was similarly inspired in her poem.
Our Land is about as authentic as you can get.
It’s a raw expression of Ms Thomas’ intense feeling, and won her a commendation in the Open section.
Our Land by Tanya Thomas
Our land is traditional country that was never for sale,
Captain Cook landed and everything changed,
Our traditional land oweners became his slaves,
Sold, traded and our children stolen,
Our country was no longer ours,
Our ancestors treated so badly,
Introduced to alcohol, tobacco and so much more,
Our women were traded to the white man for such things,
They were proud of their children being mixed race,
Rejected from family, terrible things happened and horrendous behaviour followed,
Things happened of such disgrace,
All for the white man who were so shallow,
Our people never deserved what we have seen,
Our land and our people became very hollow,
Our land is our country that we love and cherish,
Only to be stolen is such disgrace,
We have never been the same,
An apology was made to our people,
But nothing has changed, everything stayed the same,
Our land is traditional and ours to keep,
It was never for sale but stolen away,
Our people have suffered more than most,
It needs to stop for us to heal,
We are important, we have always been,
Look at our history and you will see,
We were just fine before any of this needed to be.
Ms Thomas was inspired by the “taking of the flag”, referring to WAM Clothing, a company founded by non-Indigenous pair Ben Wooster and Semele Moore, obtaining exclusive rights to the use the Aboriginal flag in 2018.
“I didn’t even think, I just picked up the pen and paper and just wrote,” she said.
“It gets to me because we were here first, we were the first nation, and yet we’re not recognised.”
When Nevaeh saw her great-grandmother Elsie Anderson arrive at the library for the awards, she rushed outside to meet her.
Ms Anderson — a compassionate soul who lives on “eight hugs a day” — embraced everyone as she arrived.
She has 67 or 68 direct descendants, “without in-laws or outlaws”, and she’s proud of every single one of them.
Ms Anderson, 93, won the Elder section for her poem COVID 19, which she wrote during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It’s hard for her to write because she suffers from Parkinson’s disease, so her great-granddaughter Maxine Thomas, Tanya’s daughter, helped her write down the poem.
But she still has a beautiful smile and the aura of kindness that radiates from her puts everyone at ease.
COVID 19 by Elsie Anderson
If somebody near you is struggling
And alone over life’s problems — COVID-19.
Which to them seem enormous
Like grains of sand, and their faith
Hope and courage, together have gone.
Reach out to them in their hour of need,
And offer a “Helping Hand”,
Turn on their darkness
With a beam of your light,
Called kindness —
It will guide them
And lead them —
And cheer them —
Especially if they’re weak, from discouragement
And afraid,
You’ll lovingly help them to stand.
If somebody near you, is hungry and cold,
Please try to feed them and warm them today.
If somebody near you is tired and old,
Left alone in their home everyday.
Speak to them gently,
Sing them a song,
Helping to lift their “Burdens of Life”,
With hands kind and strong,
Will make a “Big Difference”, today.
Who are suffering
Family or neighbours?
Look up and behold, and you maybe surprised, at who they are
Pressing on every hand,
Little ones,
Loved ones,
Sad ones,
And old.
It maybe our neighbour
Who we can befriend,
To whom comfort and aid, we can lend,
Through this very serious lockdown
We are suffering, today.
Commonly called COVID 19;
I call it Coroners Disease
Because “he”, always has the last say.
So dear ones, get busy,
For “time” goes so fast,
Very soon it may all be gone.
Soon will our “Season of Service”, be past,
Soon will our day be done.
Somebody near you,
Needs now a kind word.
Somebody near you
Needs now a help hand, that you can afford,
Please assist,
In the name of Our Lord.
The Dungala-Kaiela Writing Awards were inaugurated in 2012 to provide an opportunity for writing and self-expression in the local First Nations communities.
First Nations culture has a rich tradition of passing on history and knowledge to the next generations through storytelling and yarning.
These awards provided the opportunity for writing and self-expression to continue that tradition of handing down cultural heritage.
Awards co-ordinator Joyce Doyle said there was interest from Elders within the community to tell their stories.
It started with four or five people sitting around a table in a library in 2012 and, nearly a decade later many within the community, from elders to school children, have been drawn to tell their stories.
Because the community is so close-knit, it’s hard to find a judge who doesn’t know one of the entrants personally.
So each entry is judged without knowing the identity of the writer.
The entries are judged on the authenticity to their cultural connection to the region, the intensity of their writing, and what message they’re trying to impart.
“I’d say 90 per cent of stories that come through are connected to culture," Ms Doyle said.
“How the young people see (culture), how our Elders tell a story of the journey through the ages of how they've coped, connecting to culture.”
The awards are sponsored by members of the community and local organisations like Rumbalara and Rumbalara Netball and Football club.
Dungala-Kaeila writing award winners
Story/Yarn/Article/Play
Open winner: Larissa Falla
Open commended: Sharonlee Post
Youth winner: Mazz Post
Junior winner: Munyari Johnson (Echuca East PS)
Junior commended: Xar Minion (Guthrie PS), Chloe Hoare (Guthrie PS), Orlayah Lines (St Mary’s), Djarhyn Ferguson (St Mary’s), Rylie Atkinson (St Mary’s)
Aboriginal languages of this region in any written form
Open winner: Melissa Cowan
Youth winner: Jett Ribbins
Junior winner: Colt Cowan
Junior commended: Banyan Short
Poem/Lyric/Rap
Elder winner: Elsie Anderson
Open winner: Lisa Charles
Open commended: Tanya Thomas
Youth winner: Nerrissa Leitch
Junior winner: Nevaeh Wroe
Junior commended: Dustin Herd-Fletcher