Buxton Primary School Celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2024

Published on 31 May 2024

Murrindindi Shire Council and Buxton Primary School Celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2024.

Buxton Primary School hosted a memorable event to celebrate National Reconciliation Week 2024 in partnership with Murrindindi Shire Council.

The event, held at Buxton Primary School, was a day filled with learning and celebration. The program included a heartfelt message from Mayor Damien Gallagher and Principal Sarah Irving, Welcome to Country from Aunty Lee Healy, a song performed in Language by the talented students, a guided tour of the Warrk Warrk Trail, and a delightful morning tea.

The participation in this event is part of Council’s ongoing efforts to respect and celebrate the cultural heritage of our First Nations Peoples. Council is grateful for the community’s support and looks forward to future events that promote reconciliation.

In 2018, Taungurung language and culture became the Language Other Than English (LOTE) program at Buxton Primary School. The students use Taungurung language daily in class for greetings, acknowledgements, and other learning tasks. This school community fosters a strong understanding of, and connection to, the Taungurung concept of custodianship of the land.

For information on Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan, visit our Reconciliation page here, or call Council on (03) 5772 0333.

Mayor Damien Gallagher said ‘National Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to learn, to grow and to understand. Our goal is to progress together in harmony. This year’s theme is timely: “Now, more than ever”’.

‘The learning opportunities for young people in Buxton are outstanding and the strong collaboration between Principal Sarah Irving and Aunty Lee Healy is to be celebrated'.

‘In the spirit of reconciliation, Council acknowledges the thousands of years of stewardship by the First Nations Peoples over the air, water, and land that we now know as Murrindindi Shire. This week, in particular, we pay respect to generations of Taungurung and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung elders, as the keepers of culture and identity of the longest thriving civilisation on earth’.

‘I am heartened by the enthusiastic community participation in the National Reconciliation Week events throughout the shire in 2024 and the active efforts of so many to realise our community’s vision of vibrancy, resilience, diversity and inclusivity’.

Pictured above: Buxton Primary School students performing in Language to students and teachers from Alexandra Primary School, Marysville Kindergarten and Daycare, Yea Primary School, and Murrindindi Shire Council staff and Councillors.

Pictured: Warrk Warrk Trail located at Buxton Primary School

Pictured (from left): Principal Sarah Irving, Councillor John Walsh and Councillor Karine Haslam.