We touch the ground of the Gadigal land.
We reach for the sky that covers the Gadigal land
We touch our hearts for the care of the Gadigal land.
This is the newly created welcome to country that our school now says every assembly. This helps better recognise the Aboriginal and Torres strait islanders land. The new welcome to country is way shorter than the last one and involves everyone. Instead of just one person reading this out to the entire school everyone has to say it, get involved and learn about the importance of this speech.
The old welcome to country didn’t involve everyone and was longer. This meant that it was quite plain and boring which made a perfect opportunity for the students to start up a conversation. This was extremely disrespectful for those who were here before us and the people reading out the speech. The children would also not have a good understanding of why we do the welcome to country and who it respects.
Next year Kegworth will be doing the New Welcome to country in the Gadigal language. This will make an already good speech an amazing one. This New Welcome to country said in the Gadigal language will teach students how to speak and understand an indigenous Australian language. It will also be easier for the people who speak that language to understand what we are saying.
From the old and new, Welcome to Country has always been about respecting and recognising the indigenous people and their place in our world. From the past, present and future the land that we stand on today always was, always will be, indigenous land.
