Alumni

My role as Assistant Professor at the School of Indigenous Studies is very diverse and interesting. A small autonomous unit within UWA, the school provides many facets of teaching and learning from an Indigenous knowledges perspective as well as pathways for Indigenous people to higher education. I teach the Aboriginal Education unit to the Graduate Diploma and Master of Teaching students. This unit has evolved over the years and, in 2015, I took it to the next level of introducing identity, perspective and world view. The unit aims to enrich teachers with skills and knowledge that will enable them to know the student. If teachers do not have strong self-awareness then it is harder for them to build relationships with students and consider their perspectives - especially Aboriginal students who come with different cultural conceptualisations and worldviews.

I also have the privilege of teaching Aboriginal Voices within the Aboriginal Orientation Course. This is a preparatory course for Indigenous students to gain entry into undergraduate courses offered at UWA. Twenty-one students, predominantly school leavers, have taken their peers and me on a journey of identity, self-discovery and leadership in preparation for entry in their chosen course. The theme this semester was reconciliation and the role Indigenous war heroes have played in the foundation of what we term reconciliation. Teaching this course has been one of the most rewarding roles I’ve ever had. I see young Aboriginal people develop to inspire others. I’m excited to see what the next semester brings as we investigate levels of government and how policy reform shapes our thinking and actions.

I was born in Darwin in 1960. Mum and Dad met in Darwin after the WW2, where Dad was based at Radar Station 31 Dripstone Caves. Dad is non-Aboriginal. His extended family grew up in and around Cottesloe and Mosman Park. Mum is of the Kungarakan and Yanyuwa peoples of the Northern Territory. After I was born, my family – parents and older sister Ellen – moved to Perth where my three younger brothers were born. We lived in Mosman Park, a few houses from our paternal grandparents.

Life was great in the suburbs and I was oblivious to the fact that we were probably the only Aboriginal family living in the local area. It wasn’t until I was older and our Darwin family and friends came to visit that I realised we were the only Aboriginal people around. I became more aware of the 'divide' when in 1968 at Cottesloe primary school I was called a 'blackie'. This label caused many a great heartache subsequently. I had never felt different as a child.

My family didn’t see Aboriginal because they were my family. My friends didn’t see Aboriginal, they saw me. We ate different food influenced by multicultural Darwin. We used different English, later to be acknowledged as Aboriginal English. We moved in two worlds quite comfortably – until our parents’ separation. We stayed in Perth with Dad, to be close to our loving Nan and Pop 'up the road'. Mum returned to Darwin to be with her family. It had gotten too hard for her raising five children away from everything she knew.

After the separation, our connection to our Aboriginal family continued with visits and parcels, but the continuation of our culture lessened as we grew up in a white middle class Western suburb of Perth. Through my teenage years, while attending Swanbourne Senior High School, the distinction of Aboriginality came more into question. People would challenge my background and defy my heritage with, 'oh, you don’t look Aboriginal, you can’t be.' As a young individual, one doesn’t have the comeback to such a denial and I would innocently shrug it off. It did, though, fuel a growing concern and curiosity that continues to this day.

The term frangipani dreaming was inspired by frangipanis, my favourite flower. They are perfectly formed, come in a variety of colours, but more importantly, their delicate existence comes from a hardy, defiant tree. I have many growing at home in Darwin. Their scent wafts through the humid air. As Darwin is the place of my birth and my connection to country is greatest there, the tropical frangipani has more place and significance for me.

I used frangipani dreaming in one of my presentations at the NT Education Department Indigenous Leaders Workshop in 2012 and in the introduction to Aboriginal Education unit in 2015. It reflects my personal and professional journey and symbolises the connection between my identity, perspective, worldview and work in a Eurocentric Education world. On his return trip to Perth, my Dad brought a piece of Darwin frangipani to plant in my grandparents’ Mosman Park home. As symbolic gesture, maybe, the frangipani tree still grows today. The connection is continued, as I return to my roots.

My many educational experiences have confirmed to me that Aboriginal children are often misunderstood by non-Indigenous teachers.

I am a strong advocate for understanding. Not only understanding of the varied personalities and learning styles kids bring to the classroom, but also of their life experiences, their ancestral past, their many languages, their family connections and their values.

I believe in flipping teacher education on its head by graduating more Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers with cultural competency, who have greater understanding and appreciation of identity, perception and, most importantly, worldview.

This is at the heart of helping Aboriginal kids go further.