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Experience our Culture > Learning Together

Learning Together

Our workshops, tours and cultural programs are about learning together, supporting Arakwal values of Knowing Country, Respecting Country and Caring for Country. They focus on transfer of knowledge and practical learning for our own people, and for the wider community.

For our people it’s about:

  • Connecting to Country and each other – getting back on and looking after Country, strengthening our relationships with each other and the wider community.
  • Encouraging development of  our Arakwal community members, leaders and elders, including mentors and champions of our cultural values.
  • Providing and supporting education, training and work opportunities linked to our cultural experience, programs, workshops and activities.

For the wider community it’s about:

  • Learning about and respecting Country and our culture – how we do things and applying this when visiting and being on Country.
  • Supporting and contributing to our effort, working together caring for Country, strengthening our culture  and valuing our people.
  • Building trust and encouraging reconciliation, an understanding of our journey as a people, and how we have been challenged and had to adapt to change, particularly in recent times.

 

 

  • Click play below to view the Dubay Dancers story which shows us learning together (Video 123MB)

 

Our Approach to Cultural Learning

Through our program activities, and any workshops and tours, we aim to encourage and achieve real cultural learning for our people and for the wider community. They are varied to suit:

  • the age group, or awareness level
  • any difference in men’s and women’s business, and
  • whether its for our Mob, or for the wider community.

They promote building of relationships, knowing and caring for Country, communicating our cultural values, and working together to improve understanding and our quality of life.

Learn More

Dolphin (Wajung)
Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) is an important totem for our people. Wajoong gives us messages about relationships between our clan members, to our ancestors and the past, and also to particular places and sites in our Country. We have stories of our people and dolphins communicating and connecting with each other, including co-operative fishing, sharing resources from the ocean, and playing in the shallows. Sea Eagle (Miwing)
White Breasted Sea Eagle (Haliaetus leucogaster) is an important totem for us. Miwing gives us messages about clan and family groups, provides knowledge on hunting practices and environmental events on Country. The second largest raptor (bird of prey), you can see the majestic Miwing soaring above you as you walk along Tallow Beach or around the Cape. Carpet Snake (Kabul)
Carpet Snake (Morelia spilota) as one of our key totems symbolises the relationship of clan members to each other, to our ancestors and the past, and to particular places or sites. Kabul are important to us for their conservation, wild resource and other cultural values. Brush Turkey (Wollum)
Brush Turkey (Alectura lathami) is a messenger providing clues about and demonstrating knowledge and adaptability in knowing and using Country. Wollum lives and moves freely in the coastal bush, foraging through leaf litter for food to eat. The male builds large mounds out of vegetative material and uses it to incubate their eggs. Pied Oystercatcher (language name?)
Pied Oystercatcher (Haematopus longirostris) is an important bird to us because they provide messages about food sources and environmental events in Country. The Pied forages on the beaches and rocky shores, in mudflats of inlets, bays, ocean beaches, and on offshore islets. Green Turtle (Bijahlin)
Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) is an important messenger that provides knowledge of the sea Country. Biwing nests on north coast beaches including Tallow Beach and Lennox Heads to the south. Julian Rocks (Nguthungulli) supports significant populations of the Biwing and if you go snorkeling or diving there, you can have a close encounter with these graceful creatures.