Gallery | Gowrie St Primary School’s Aunties program

By Shepparton News

Jun 19, 2023

Best mates: Dahnell Bowden, Seth Macrae and Nashantha Gibbons. Photo by Amy DePaola

Gowrie St Primary School has fostered the development of culturally strong and confident children through its Aunties program, ensuring students are connected to their culture and identity.

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Led by Yorta Yorta woman Aunty Lisa Lynch-Johnson, the Aunties program provides an invaluable opportunity for First Nations students to come together, learn, yarn and be creative.

Throughout term two, students have been engaged in crafting their own head-dresses, while also participating in art workshops and cultural education sessions facilitated by visiting Aunties.

Shepparton Koori services co-ordinator Tina King delighted students by bringing in a possum skin cloak.

She explained the significance of the cloak, recounting how babies were traditionally presented with a possum pelt at birth.

As the child grew, more pelts were added, and the cloak grew with them.

Artists Juldi Lynch-Jones and Raelene Harbrow have also worked with the students to create a number of artworks.

Originally run as a pilot program by the Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project in 2022, Aunties has had an overwhelmingly positive response, prompting its integration as a permanent fixture in the Gowrie St Primary School timetable.

Check out some photos from the program.