Mural unveiling and book creating drives up Indigenous awareness

A NEW mural at Leopold Primary School was unveiled on Friday as part of a promising new program that raises Indigenous awareness across the region through storytelling.

The Cultural Immersion Primary School Pilot Program is a collaborative project, driven and funded by Deakin University that allows students in local primary schools to better learn and understand the Indigenous culture and history within their area.

“The thing we are most stoked about is the ‘ripple effect’ that will come from this project,” manager of Indigenous inclusion at Deakin University and Gunditjmara man Tom Molyneux said.

“The students get to create a book and then they get to take that artefact home with them to their families, who also get to share in the learning that the kids have had.”

The program was inspired by a similarly successful project undertaken by the Mogo and Mudji team at the University of Wollongong back in 2018.

With the support of the Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (LAECG) and the Department of Education and Training’s Koorie Education Workforce, Deakin University was partnered with Leopold Primary School’s Grade Four cohort of approximately 120 students and the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to conduct the program during Term Three.

Wadawurrung Traditional Owners, Corrina Eccles and B.J O’Toole had the opportunity to educate the teachers and students at Leopold Primary School, helping them understand the history and culture of Leopold prior to colonisation.

Both Wadawurrung custodians told stories of the local area that were handed down to them from their ancestors.

The students then used this knowledge to create their own stories of Leopold to demonstrate and share their understandings.

These stories were published and each student received their own copy on Friday at the mural unveiling.

From here, the stories will also be shared amongst the wider community to continue the transfer of knowledge.

“This culturally led program, modelled on true collaboration and the best utilisation of local expertise has ensured the students and staff at Leopold Primary School developed a deep understanding of Indigenous knowledges and world views,” Leopold principal Stuart Bott said.

“This program has built their confidence to connect with Wadawurrung history and built the capacity to teach about our shared history.”

The mural created by Mr O’Toole at Leopold Primary depicts the local landscape and the knowledge, as well as the voices of the students involved with this project.