Over 20 CFA District 8 staff, career firefighters and volunteer firefighters had the privilege of going to the Casey Aboriginal Gathering Place on Thursday 28 June 2018 to join Aboriginal community members and Traditional Owners to listen and learn as part of an Aboriginal cultural awareness session.
CFA staff and volunteers learning about Aboriginal Culture.
This was part of CFA’s Koori Inclusion Action Plan, improving our understanding of Aboriginal culture, history and cultural heritage.
Trevor Owen, the Assistant Chief Officer for South East Region, introduced Andrew Gardner, the CEO of the Dandenong Aboriginal Cooperative and local Elder to who performed a Welcome to Country for the event. This was followed by the much-anticipated session by Adam Maginnis, a local Bunarong man.
Adam owns his own business running education sessions about Aboriginal culture and heritage. With an archaeology background, he was able to give a good presentation about what lies beneath our feet.
“There are tens of thousands of years of human history that is literally just below the surface or, in some instances, on and above the surface,” Adam said.
Adam spoke about Aboriginal middens and stone artefacts and showed maps of the local area where cultural heritage sites are marked.
CFA needs to understand our obligations under the Aboriginal Heritage Act, and these types of sessions help us learn how to ensure we carry out our operations in a way that avoids harming cultural heritage sites.
“CFA and the Aboriginal community have the shared culture of fire, and there's so much CFA can learn from the Aboriginal community and work together,” Adam said.
The second part of Adam's presentation was more hands-on. Participants literally got their hands dirty in a colourful way. Adam is also a well-renowned local Aboriginal artist, with his work proudly displayed at several sites across the Mornington Peninsula. After seeing some pictures of the colourful artwork that Adam produces, it was the participants' turn to create their own artwork on some small wooden tiles.
Aboriginal art is some of the oldest art in the world. They were the first culture to depict the human face and Aboriginal rock art found across the country is historical evidence of a thriving and culturally rich people who lived and adapted to living in Australia for more than 60,000 years.
Acting Operation Manager Andrew Turner, who was also present on the evening, said, “The evening was a great success with CFA people from across the organisation engaging, sharing and learning with our local Indigenous leaders and their community."