“We’re a water culture. But you know, every culture in the world is. All human beings are connected to water.”
Those were the words of Brendan Kennedy speaking at this week’s Understanding Place Seminar at Greater Western Water’s (GWW) Footscray office. The event was a part of GWW’s partnership with Victoria University, which sees the two organisations coming together to share resources, intelligence and efforts to create the best possible water management practices for the west.
Understanding Place presented a series of expert talks to give the teams at GWW and VU insight into how Traditional Owners and First Nations Australians relate to and interact with Country and Place, and what that means for the way water flows through Australia.
Shared wisdom
The audience heard from a range of speakers, all of whom brought the benefit of their wisdom.
Karen Jackson, Yorta Yorta woman and Executive Director of the Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit at Victoria University, was Master of Ceremonies.
Annette Xiberras is a Wurrundjeri Elder who has worked in Aboriginal cultural heritage for more than 25 years. She is the Managing Director of UCA Cultural Heritage Planners and her expertise is reflected in the range of honorary positions she holds, such as Co-chair of the Victorian Traditional Owners Land Justice Group. She talked of the way waterways were traditionally the “chemist, university and supermarket” for First Nations people, who found food, insight and contraceptive medication along its banks.
Brendan Kennedy is a Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi Traditional Owner who is Melbourne Enterprise Principal Fellow in Cultural Economies and Sustainability at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course. He reminded those in attendance that our water is like the blood in our body. If we cut off the water to part of our country, it will die just like a neglected limb. Water is a living thing, to be understood and cared for its own sake and inherent value, as well as for the multitude of benefits it brings.
Rhys Collins, a Worimi descendant and Traditional Owner Relationships Manager at Melbourne Water, shared the need for “Landscape thinking” approach is needed to manage water and land effectively. Treating resources or locations as isolated can’t work when everything is so connected. Think you’re managing water but not the nearby grassland? Think again.
The power of relationships
What came through strongly was that authentic engagement with First Nations Australians and groups is vital and valuable. They bring insight, expertise and wisdom to land management that can’t be found elsewhere. The true partnerships we need are found only through ongoing dialogue and discussion. You can’t ‘hold one meeting and sign an agreement’.
GWW Managing Director Maree Lang, speaking at the seminar, said both GWW and VU would benefit from a continued sharing of knowledge and insight from First Nations people and Traditional Owners, who play such a central role to the work of both organisations. GWW has a vision of a society that celebrates and protects the cultural and spiritual connections of First Nations peoples to the surrounding lands and waters.
The road to reconciliation
We launched our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan this year, stepping out the actions we’ll take towards our reconciliation vision. Areas of focus for our people include mutually beneficial relationships with First Nations stakeholders and organisations, and promoting reconciliation through our sphere of influence.
Sessions like Understanding Place, and the sharing and teaching they represent, are aimed at fostering the open culture in which those activities will thrive.
