Belgrave’s annual Survival Day expressed a vision to which all could feel part. Healesville’s Indigenous elder Aunty Dot urged the crowd to care for each other, especially children, in order to create a future based on respect, whilst Richard Frankland and The Charcoal Band revved up the audience with the call for a celebration of dissenters – to those who have stood up for Indigenous rights and justice across the ages.
Surrounded by the aged cypress trees of Borthwick Park in Belgrave about 500 people gathered to hear Indigenous performers such as Jessie Lloyd who, following the welcome to country ceremony, filled the valleys and slopes of Belgrave with her beautifully proud voice – a voice that told me, as I arrived, that I was in the right place. Leila Gurruwiwi, a talented young presenter, charmed the crowd as MC, whilst Black Elvis, the Jindi Worobak dance group and Gnarnayarrahe Waitarire entertained, sharing and celebrating their culture with the audience.
Throughout the day adults enjoyed the music and relaxed on the lawns in the unusually cool, but not cold, weather (past Survival Days have been both hot and sunny), whilst children ran hither and dither with homemade Aboriginal flags; their faces painted with Aboriginal designs. After four years running Belgrave’s Survival Day has become the official event for January 26th in the region, with many Indigenous peoples from Healesville and beyond attending.
The Survival Day Committee this year honoured Yorta Yorta man William Cooper who, among other inspiring accomplishments, lead a private protest at the German Consulate in Melbourne against the Nazi’s following the barbarism of Kristallnacht in 1938, in which 91 Jews were killed and a further 30,000 rounded up and sent to concentration camps.
Each January Australia is faced with the opportunity to define itself in the wake of its history, in the same way that Germany was forced to after the Second World War. For Indigenous Australians January 26th is both a day of mourning (Invasion day) and a day of celebration (Survival day). It is a day to celebrate Indigenous culture and the strength of those who have withstood and survived the genocide, and a day for all to reflect on the legacies of colonialism and the lessons that we have learnt as a result.
Unfortunately, Australia still has a long way to go in acknowledging its racist history and in delivering justice to Indigenous people. The life expectancy of Indigenous people is still way below the national average, whilst politically Indigenous people remain under represented with political leaders rarely acknowledging the need for a treaty and reparations. This political situation is what upholds policies like the Northern Territory Intervention, to which many Indigenous community leaders vigorously dissent.
As Aunty Dot reflected, the virtues of respect, care and compassion should be central to our communities in order to ensure a just, equal and peaceful future for all. Belgrave’s Survival Day captured these sentiments and maybe 2011 will be a year in which they are acted upon.
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Aunty Dot put out the call for help maintaining the cemetery in Healesville where her elders are buried. A lawn mower is required. If you can help, contact the survival day committee for her contact details at survivalday@gmail.com.
