We often hear the phrase “Australia’s dark past” in reference to unpleasant aspects of post-colonial history in this country. It includes the deaths of Aboriginal People through disease spread by Europeans; the injuries and deaths caused by conflicts between the expanding colony and the traditional owners; Indigenous incarceration at a rate far higher than their proportion of the population; the theft of wages for forced work and the stealing of children from their families in the pursuit of assimilation.

The conflicts between the European invaders and Traditional Custodians are commonly referred to as the “Frontier Wars”. It is another term used to describe conflict between the European invaders and the traditional owners and conjures a picture of frontiers the world over where territories have been disputed and fought for. 

The advanced weaponry of the European invaders usually saw a higher number of fatalities on the Aboriginal side of the conflicts. 

Many of these conflicts have now been declared “massacres”. The most heinous of these aren’t adequately described by the term “Frontier War”. They were the massacres that went beyond disputes over property or territory and saw white law enforcers exceed their legal duty and undertake murders of innocent, unarmed Aboriginal People. And while this occurred outside the limits of Australian law, the white perpetrators were rarely brought to justice.

It is hard to imagine now that massacres of Aboriginal families could have been officially sanctioned but that was the case less than a century ago near Coniston in Central Australia.

Coniston was a cattle station in Central Australia. 1928 was a time of severe drought which meant many people - Anmatyerr mob, Kaytetje and Warlpiri - migrated to an area near the cattle property known for water springs (Yaruku and Yurrkuru).

Randall Stafford, a pastoralist, had built Coniston Station and claimed the Yurrkuru spring as part of his land. The drought in 1928 had caused him to sell his cattle and lay off his worker, Fred Brooks. Brooks set up his camp next to Yurrkuru and was the first white man that many of the new arrivals to the soakage had ever seen.

But one of the men who arrived, an Aboriginal man known as Bullfrog, was familiar with white people and keen for some tobacco. He sent his wife, Napurrurla, to the white man’s tent to ask for tobacco. Brooks made her do jobs to earn the tobacco and when she didn’t return it was believed that Bullfrog had lost his promised wife to the white man. He was so angry he went to Brooks’ tent and killed him. He quickly buried the body and fled the area.

After Brooks’ body was found the police in Alice Springs sent mounted Constable George Murray (who was also Protector of Aborigines) to Coniston Station. He had orders to find who murdered Fred Brooks, and bring them into town so he put together a posse of station workers to help him.

They found a group of Aboriginal people near the waterhole and opened fire. A few escaped to the hills but everyone else was shot and killed. Murray was supposed to question witnesses and bring suspects into Alice Springs. But, unable to find Bullfrog, he undertook a series of reprisals killing between 14 August and 18 October. Over 60 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed over the following months. 

This massacre was illegal by Australian law but the perpetrators were never charged and their actions were considered to be in “self-defence”. This August we remember the fallen at Coniston. Reflecting on one tragedy helps to personalise the staggering statistic that nearly 250 massacres occurred in Australia between 1788 and 1930!

A project to map the locations and scale of massacres across Australia is being undertaken by the University of Newcastle. You can view the results online at: https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/map.php

The Guardian also has used the same data to create a map of sites where violence occurred on the Australian frontier: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/ng-interactive/2019/mar/04/massacre-map-australia-the-killing-times-frontier-wars
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These tools can help to educate all Australians about the truth of the land we now share. We need to confront this dark past in order to make a better future.

Next Sunday, 4 August, is National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day, a day for all Australians to show their support for and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The weeks surrounding the day provide classrooms with a great opportunity to explore this year’s theme, “We Play, We Learn, We Belong”, and promote the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
 
Here are 5 deadly activities to celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day with your kids: 
 
Activity 1: Our FREE downloadable colouring-in sheet. 
 
Get your kids thinking more about this year’s theme with our free downloadable colouring-in sheet. Have a discussion about what each of the topics mean as they colour in each section. Download available below. 
 
Activity 2: Play traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander games with our FREE downloadable instructions. 
 
Have a blast with your kids playing one or more of the traditional games using our detailed instructions. Download available below. 
 
Activity 3: Learn more about traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander toys and games. 
 
Log in to Wingaru Kids or Wingaru Bubs and watch our “Traditional Toys” video and discover what they were made from and how they were played. 
 
For primary school teachers, complete the STEM activities with your students and test their knowledge with digital activities. 
 
For early learning educators, print out our “Traditional Toys” poster and matching card game or play a digital matching game identifying if a toy is modern or traditional. 
 
Don’t have a Wingaru Kids account? Primary schools can access our “Traditional Toys” lesson by requesting a free trial of the platform www.wingaru.com.au/wingaru-kids-trial.html
 
Activity 4: Celebrate the achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people 
 
What great things are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people doing in your school or local community? Celebrate these by creating artworks representing their achievements and display them in your classroom.  
 
Activity 5: Celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with storytelling 
 
Invite a member of your local Aboriginal community into your classroom to share a Dreaming story. 
 
For more Dreaming stories from around Australia log into Wingaru Kids or Wingaru Bubs and access videos, digital activities and printables.  

​Tip 1: Participate in a simultaneous learning experience with “All Together Now for Reconciliation”. 
 
Across Australia children in early learning centres, primary and high schools, can simultaneously join the reconciliation movement and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices via a new exciting online platform we have developed in partnership with Reconciliation NSW.
 
“All Together Now for Reconciliation” is a simultaneous classroom experience specially created to provide easy and accessible cultural content and is a great way to engage kids in activities for National Reconciliation Week. Each stage explores the 2019 Schools Reconciliation Challenge theme, “Speaking and Listening from the Heart”. Students investigate truth telling and what it takes to walk alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples with courage and pride.
 
To participate join us online at www.togethernow.com.au. Available until 30 June 2019.
 
Tip 2: Learn more about this year’s theme.
 
Visit the Reconciliation Australia website to learn more about the 2019 theme “Grounded in Truth, Walk Together with Courage”. While you’re there download this year’s poster to display in your classroom.
 
Tip 3: Have an open discussion in your classroom. 
 
What does reconciliation mean to your students? Encourage your students to explores the five dimensions of reconciliation as identified by the State of Reconciliation in Australian 2016 Report – historical acceptance, race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity and unity. 
 
Tip 4: Learn more about the significance of the dates at the beginning and end of National Reconciliation Week. 
 
National Reconciliation Week is held on the same dates every year – 27 May to 3 June. Both these dates mark two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, which gave the Australian Government the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to include them in the Census; and the High Court Mabo decision, which saw the concept of terra nullius overturned. 
 
Our Wingaru Kids platform provides informative and engaging lessons on both these important dates with our “1967 Referendum” and “Mabo” lessons. Each lesson includes a lesson plan, curriculum outcomes, video, digital activities and printable resources. 
 
Tip 5: Check out one of the Reconciliation activities 
 
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. Support your students to attend local events and invite them to share their experiences with the class. 

How is the end of term 1 here already?! 2019 is flying by!

We have had a busy term with lots of new schools joining us and new content being created by our educators. Look out over the next few weeks for some new Torres Strait lessons, and more lessons that align with the STEM elaborations released at the end of 2018. We are also preparing our NAIDOC lessons for 2019.

We have been assisting teachers with matching lessons to the units they are currently teaching in their classrooms. I love that teachers are reaching out for this support as it is why I started Wingaru. Changing the way people approach Aboriginal education and making Aboriginal content more accessible means more perspectives in the classroom and thats something I can get excited about! Sing out if you need a hand!

As Easter approaches, classrooms are busy with Easter activities. Easter parades, Easter craft and visits from the super Bunny himself, mean that eggs are a focus for many students. While Easter is not an Aboriginal celebration, eggs were a big part of customary life and looking at how Aboriginal people used eggs is a great perspective for all age groups. I have attached some worksheets that may help. 

I hope the holidays are a relaxing time for you and your mob.

Cynthia and her mum Betty.

​How is the 2019 school year here already?
 
This week as families, including my own, get back into the swing of everyday life and remember the routines that come with having school age children, I can’t help but be excited about what the year may hold. How will my children grow and develop this year? What newly found knowledge will they share with me as they burst through the door eager to share the amazing facts they have discovered? How much bigger will their feet get and how many new pairs of shoes will I need to buy to keep up? With each year I see more of the great men they will be and watching them navigate who they will be is without a doubt one of my greatest privileges.
 
I am also really excited to introduce some new services to Wingaru as we introduce Wingaru Butabuta Cultural Awareness Training and education services for adults. The name Wingaru Butabuta is inspired by the teaming up of two amazing Aboriginal women who have come together to share their knowledge and experience with organisations looking to increase their cultural capacity. Tricia, a Darug woman, and Cynthia, a Dunghutti woman, share the Wingaru mission of creating a shared understanding about Aboriginal Australia.
 
Wingaru, a Darug word meaning 'to think' and Butabuta, a Dunghutti word, meaning 'together' is the perfect name for the services that Tricia and Cynthia will be overseeing and there are no words to express how excited I am to introduce the program that they have put together. Wingaru Butabuta offers programs for organisations of all types including government and non-government organisations, teachers and educators working across all stages as well as individuals wishing to increase their understanding of Aboriginal people. We are also able to support organisations in developing culturally appropriate education materials, programs and plans such a Reconciliation Action Plans.
 
We also have some great things planned for the coming year for Wingaru Kids and Bubs. We of course have new content for both platforms, including NAIDOC resources which will support kids of all ages to think about the importance of Aboriginal voices, the truth about Aboriginal history and our people, and of course treaty and the ways that we can best recognise the rights of our first nations. Our educators have been busy over the break working on Aboriginal perspectives for STEM. This includes revisiting many lessons on the Wingaru Kids Platform to highlight relevant Science outcomes and have included engaging new printables.   We also have some new language lessons on the way in recognition of 2019 being the International Year of Indigenous Languages.
 
When I chat to the teachers whose classes use the Wingaru Platform the most, the thing they have in common is planning, whether it be yearly, termly or weekly. The curriculum is busy and it is difficult to find time for all the things we ask teachers to include in the classroom so having lessons where Aboriginal perspectives are combined with outcomes from Key Learning Areas such as HASS, Science, PDHPE or English is a big advantage.

Planning can also support more regular inclusion of Aboriginal content in the classroom so as you are planning for this term I encourage you to consider ways you can deliver  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives each week. I'd love to see your approach to planning - sing out if we can help!