Carroll College’s Indigenous students accompanied by Ms Ellis, Mrs Heffernan, Mr Brady, Mr Moreton and Mrs Katuke embarked on a three-day cultural immersion tour of Ulladulla and the Sydney region on Wednesday the 28th of July. 

Our first stop was the Ulladulla Rock Cave where we were given a site tour. We then attended cultural workshops, with the girls creating possum skin armbands and learning traditional dances, while the boys took part in a didgeridoo workshop. We then travelled to Sydney and finished the evening with a trivia challenge and the Carroll’s Got Talent showcase. 

Thursday began with a visit to Ku-Ring-Gai National Park, where after a beautiful Acknowledgment of Country and Smoking ceremony overlooking Palm Beach, we undertook a cultural workshop and visited significant sites within the park including rock caves, The Basin and Aboriginal Engraving sites. 

We then headed into the city and enjoyed a visit to Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum and the opportunity to experience the sites of Sydney. After dinner, we took part in the Lantern Ghost Tour of The Rocks, where we learnt about the history of the region and its sinister past. 

Day three saw us take part in The Rocks Aboriginal Dreamtime tour, where we learnt about the culture and history of the Gadigal People before we headed back to the coast. 

The staff would like to commend our students on their behaviour and engagement with all aspects of the experience. 

Below are reflections on the experience of some of our Indigenous students:

Emily Foran - I enjoyed the cultural side of everything and learning about other mobs and their ways of living. I found the walks interesting and the boomerang throwing where we learnt how to properly throw a boomerang and we learnt what the didgeridoo sounds meant.

Michelle Barber - I loved learning more about my culture/Aboriginal history and how we used to thrive out in the bush. 

Robert Slockee - The excursion was a great learning experience for all of us students to learn about our cultural heritage. It was fun when I got to learn to play the didgeridoo and perform it for the others. Also just getting to hang out with the others doing the activities was fun. 

Isabella Williams - It was a great experience. I enjoyed learning more about our culture and all the fun things we did. 

Harry Roberts - I really enjoyed the didgeridoo workshop; I learned a lot and it was lots of fun. I also enjoyed the Red Hand Caves and learned a lot about my culture.

Willow Gapps - It was a good experience learning about our culture.

Kai Woodford - I really liked learning the didgeridoo and then playing so the girls could dance to it. I also enjoyed looking at the caves in Ulladulla and the Red Hand Caves in Sydney.

Ruby Davis - I loved learning more about my culture and its history.  I also loved learning about the other mobs in the area. 

Sonny Cottington - I loved learning more about my culture on the trip. I learned more about playing the didgeridoo and I liked walking in the city. 

Mrs Michelle Katuke
Aboriginal Contact Teacher