Still Here

13/01/2026

Dear wuta ,

We are writing to inform that Still Here and Wulumbarra will not be conducting our Kaieltheban Park, Day of Mourning Dawn Service for Jan 26th this year.

We strongly believe that events such as this play an important part in working towards healing and walking in a way which considers our histories and intends to move forward with sensitivity and care for a healed future on our lands.

However after 5 years of delivering this event and in doing so largely self funded, we are not in a position to hold this event this year.

We thank everyone that has either supported or participated in this event the past 5 years for believing in and being apart of something beautiful and healing. This being for both our own people and allies that have supported.

Take care all this Jan 26th. The path to healing continues onwards on Jan 26th and all days as our year continues.

Dungudja dhomodhomonga dorra wuta
Big love to all

28/01/2025

Year 5 of our Dawn Service for Jan 26th alongside Wulumbarra , Community and allies.
Grateful for all whom shared in the moment with us on this precious day once more .

Images Amy De Paola and Vanessa Morris

18/01/2025

On January 26th we will be converging at Kaieltheban Park in Mooroopna for our 5th year running of our Dawn Service.

This event is taking place to pay our respects to the original colonial impacts on Gadigal lands in the 1700s and how that led to broader impacts across all of so called Australia that now have affected the ways of life for all Indigenous peoples of this land.

This includes here in this place as the first place of encounter in the area where first colonial impacts came around the mid 1800s.

This event is about acknowledging these pains that have been inflicted and that in order to move forward we must do so through respect and care that can enable truth and healing to take place for our people.

We extend this sentiiment as applicable across all of society as we can acknowledge the pains of the past to work towards a just and healed future on Indigenous Land. Indigenous Land where our collective Sovereignties have not been ceded.

_____________________________________________

As ongoing Custodians of this land acknowledge that this event takes place where our Ancestors have practiced culture for many thousands of years. We acknowledge that we continue their work as Custodians of Country with respect to their legacy which has endured through time. We continue this work and acknowledge that our Sovereingty has not been ceded .

We also pay respects to all other First Nations peoples across this broader Sacred land mass of many Indigenous Nations. We acknowledge their experiences as impacted by Colonisation and acknowledge that their Sovereignty has not been ceded , nor has their been any treaties signed to this day.

20/12/2024

Just as we stood Tuesday alongside the memories and mulana of dear Uncle William and all of our elders that have come before us doing the sacred work of custodianship to work towards a healed society on Aboriginal lands.

In spite of the council motion endorsed on Tuesday to re instate Australia Day Celebration run by the . And their wishes to put this matter 'to rest 'We will be back on January 26th. Self determining our right to mourn - our right to heal- in accordance with with what is true and just on our sacred custodial lands.

Day of Mourning Dawn Service in Kaieltheban Park ,Mooroopna , followed by the Day Of Mourning at the so called Queens Gardens , Shepparton.

Come join us - to heal in a just - and right way on January 26th as we honour the legacy our elders who came before working towards what is right on our sacred lands and honour our future rights to self determing how we mourn and heal - Garra - Now.

More details to come

28/01/2024

Dawn Service Friday 26th , 2024on Kaieltheban land , Yorta Yorta lotjpa woka. This was our 4th year of the + Dawn Service after commencing in 2021 standing by our dear Kaiela, with a small gathering of about 25 of us standing on that cold wet morning.

The growth each year, the feeling of reflecting on all the things that have come before for our peoples from the First Moments on woka through our thousands of years cultural lores and ways being moved in alignment with.

Then through to the colonial horrors of first impacts on the broader land mass of so called Australia in so called Botany bay on Bidjigal land to the 1800s on Yorta Yorta lotjpa woka , then into the now we hold all of the inspiration of our ancestors to reassert our rightful position as part of country itself . We stood for all of us. All our mobs from here to Palestine to Aotearoa and back daya-here.

On Friday it was largely young winyarrs and yiyirrs who inspired us , sharing song , dance and dungudja mulana - big spirit , to show up for our healing in the now. In doing so giving us endless inspiration for healing into the muniak - the future.

Love to all our people, Yorta Yorta yakapna & wuta/all yakapna who showed most importantly the healing we can bring for ourselves when we hold together in such ways + how this can only inevitably create a ripple flow on to all living beings , people , and cultures who now call dhoma woka home also.

We are dunguludja yakapna , never to be broken,
We are sacred, and our wulumbarra , it indeed burns dunguludja , strong.

The bitja can never be taken away as long as we are Still here and indeed that we are Still Here, Still here Still Sovereign

Always will be
Murrangurang

[-0-]

Images : Amy De Paola

27/01/2024

This year we ran our 4th Wulumbarra Still Here Dawn Service on Kaieltheban Woka, Yorta Yorta lotjpa woka. We spoke with ABC Goulburn Murray around some of the reason for starting in 2021

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-26/january-26-dawn-services-indigenous-invasion-australia-day/103375100?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web&fbclid=IwAR0WBx3-bQ1mj-CsbNPjXJsTrZIm-q5qxvrYr0btA1zxt4Qveh4yWQIiqlo

Dawn services are a way for the community to pay their respects to the Aboriginal people who were killed during the business of settling Australia, and acknowledge the ongoing impacts of colonisation on First Nations people.

16/01/2024

On January 26th we will be converging at Kaieltheban Park in Mooroopna for our 4th year running of our Dawn Service.

This event is taking place to pay our respects to the original colonial impacts on Gadigal lands in the 1700s and how that led to broader impacts across all of so called Australia that now have affected the ways of life for all Indigenous peoples of this land.

This includes here in this place as the first place of encounter in the area where first colonial impacts came around the mid 1800s.

This event is about acknowledging these pains that have been inflicted and that in order to move forward we must do so through respect and care that can enable truth and healing to take place for our people.

We extend this sentiiment as applicable across all of society as we can acknowledge the pains of the past to work towards a just and healed future on Indigenous Land. Indigenous Land where our collective Sovereignties have not been ceded.

_____________________________________________

As ongoing Custodians of this land acknowledge that this event takes place where our Ancestors have practiced culture for many thousands of years. We acknowledge that we continue their work as Custodians of Country with respect to their legacy which has endured through time. We continue this work and acknowledge that our Sovereingty has not been ceded .

We also pay respects to all other First Nations peoples across this broader Sacred land mass of many Indigenous Nations. We acknowledge their experiences as impacted by Colonisation and acknowledge that their Sovereignty has not been ceded , nor has their been any treaties signed to this day.

26/10/2023

Ngalngin Murrangurang Ganbina - We Always Rise.

As cultures of up to 80,000 plus years continuation as First Nations peoples, we have faced many many obstacles and challenges such as environmental ones which we have continued through.

This includes flood events which as Yorta Yorta people we have continued to endure through and live in harmony with.

This time last year in our region our local area was subject to te largest flood in the past 50 years.

This had an impact on many of our community members , including our pracitioners of song/music.

Ngalngin Murrangurang Ganbina is an event which will include the sharing of new and existing work of a number of local song practitioners within our people living in the Mooroopna/ Shepparton area whom lived throug the flood experience of 2022.

This event will include performances from
, Baby Dan Arlo Charles and .

This event has been supported by and Flood Recovery Program and will take place at Kaieltheban Park Mooroopna on Sunday at 2pm on Yorta Yorta Lotjpa Woka.

27/05/2023

Unfortunately due to weather we have had to Cancel todays event . It will however be Postponed to a later date to come soon. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause to your day. We will look foward to hosting this event on rescheduled date and seeing you all then.

Datjin nangarna