STAFF WRITERS
A NEW outdoor space at Federation University Australia’s Gippsland Campus will provide a safe and welcoming environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, and those in the community to connect to Country and celebrate culture.
‘Warulung’, meaning ‘Our place’ in the Gunaikurnai language, was officially launched as part of the Place of Being project by the Aboriginal Education Centre at Federation and the University’s Property and Infrastructure team, in partnership with an advisory committee made up of Traditional Owners and community leaders.
It will support spiritual and cultural practices, dances, smoking ceremonies, and events throughout the year, enabling students, staff, and the wider community to learn, reflect and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ connection to country.
Federation University Aboriginal Education Centre Senior Manager, Katrina Beer said the site held much cultural significance.
“We have students and staff who come from many different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities who need a culturally safe place to connect spiritually,” she said.
“We hope Warulung can create that sense of belonging, like a home away from home.”
The site features a semi-circle of five steel shields, signifying the five clans of the Gunaikurnai: Brataualung, Brayakaulung, Brabralung, Tatungalung and Krauatungalung.
Federation University Vice Chancellor and President, Professor Duncan Bentley said the space would become an important focal point on the campus.
“The Place of Being projects provide a safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students and the wider community to connect to country,” he said.
“We hope this amazing space at the Gippsland campus can be a central place for community to come together to celebrate the rich culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”
Warulung’s spherical fire pit was designed by Gunaikurnai artist Ronald Edwards-Pepper and complements the site’s original stone fire pit designed by Gunaikurnai elder, Uncle Wayne Thorpe.
The shields and garden were installed by the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, with design input from Gunaikurnai and Indigenous artists.
‘Places of Being’ have also been established at Federation campuses in the Wimmera and Ballarat, with another to be launched in 2025 in Berwick.
