Celebrating 50 years of Timorese culture in Australia

FOLLOWING two very successful concerts at Melbourne Town Hall recently, The Boite Schools Chorus will perform at Mount Clear College tomorrow.

The chorus will sing Mai Fali Eh! Songs and Stories of Timor-Leste.

One of the recent performances was attended by the President of the Republic of Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta and Inês Maria de Almeida, Ambassador of Timor-Leste in Australia.

‘You were great!” said Jose Ramos-Horta, to the children after they delivered an hour of songs in Tetum and English to a massed audience in Melbourne Town Hall.

The Boîte Schools Chorus is an unauditioned choir project bringing together schools and community youth choirs to provide a transformative experience for students from schools across Victoria.

“Over 700 children from regional and city schools meet and connect through songs,” said Boite portfolio project coordinator and marketing officer Ellen Chan.

“Every year the chorus focuses on a different cultural theme, collaborating with talented artists to create an awe-inspiring concert series.

“2025 marks fifty years since the first Timorese refugees fled their homeland, arriving in Australia in August 1975.

“In this concert, the chorus will be singing a repertoire originally developed by leading Timorese singer and songwriter, Ego Lemos with Australian musician, Andrea Khoza under the direction of Ballarat local and choir director, Stella Savy, and performing with Timorese-Australian band, Mystic Trio.

“Central to the performance is the telling of The Crocodile Story – an origin story of East Timor, about a legendary crocodile named Lafaek Diak, whose friendship with a human boy was so deep that when Diak died the ridges on his back became the mountains of Timor-Leste.”

The performance will be held at Mount Clear College on Saturday 6 September at 1pm.

For bookings, go to trybooking.com/events/landing/1421547.