Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School launched their new Aboriginal garden on Tuesday.
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The weather meant the ceremony had to be moved indoors, but it didn’t dampen the message and meaning behind the ceremony and the creation of the beautiful new outdoor space.
The garden had been planted out with various natives to the region, which Aboriginal people used for eating, making and medicinal purposes, including, pig face (kupburril), blue flax lily, spiny-headed mat rush, water vine, sandpiper fig (marrulang), black apple (jerra wa wah), Gymea lily and warrigal greens (murragal).
Students spoke of the various elements in the garden, including a Gunya, which is a traditional Aboriginal shelter made from branches and leaves. They were temporary houses for Aboriginal people but showed their architectural skill.
The layout of individual shelters in campsites had to account for kinship and behaviour patterns between group members. Together with ceremonial dance grounds, these dictated the overall structure of the camp.
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