News

Yuendumu Visit 2016

19 August 2016

On the 1st of August we welcomed our first group of visitors from Yuendumu, Northern Territory.

Many of you are aware that over the last 5 years, students from Xavier High School have made an annual pilgrimage to this community as part of our Immersion Program. This year, we were so fortunate to be able to host a group of 15 students, 4 community Elders and 2 teachers from the community here in Albury.

The visiting students were able to experience Albury at its coldest and shared their time with our Aboriginal and Immersion students here at Xavier, visited St Anne’s school and met with members of the local Aboriginal community. The children performed traditional ceremonial dances which was a real privilege to witness for our students and the Year 5 and 6 students at St Anne’s.

On the Tuesday night, a dinner was held at school and members of the local Aboriginal community came along and met with our guests. There was lots of conversation and laughter to be had and the kids particularly enjoyed playing with the children that came along. A big thank you to the staff that assisted with the catering of the evening.

The children went to the snow on the Wednesday and had a beautiful day up there, whilst the ladies caught up with some of the local Elders and swapped stories about their respective countries. We were very honoured to have Aunty Nancy Rooke and Aunty Rose Whybrow meet with the ladies and take them to significant places in our community.

The children were treated to an art lesson by local artist David Dunn and a beautiful walk guided by Darren Wighton along the Wagirra trail before they left on Friday to attend the “G” for a match between Richmond and Collingwood. We saw them off with much sadness, but beautiful memories.

A big thank you must go to Peter Williams for his determination to see a reciprocal experience for his Yuendumu friends. Also to the School Leadership that recognised the value of this experience for us and the Yuendumu community. I’d also like to thank Kerrie and Craig Richardson from Albury Tourist Park for accommodating our guests.

Michelle Milthorpe

Social Justice Coordinator