East Warburton Public Hall Playground, Woods Point Road, Warburton East
A beautifully crafted playground which features totem poles telling the story of the Wurundjeri. The main play structure has climbing walls, inclined rope net ladder, steps and curved slide. Also a traversing structure with hanging disks, arched walkway, rope net bridge and steps on the side of vertical poles. There is a birds nest swing, two standard swings, log and stump steppers and hopscotch court.
One unshaded table, lots of unshaded seats, water tap and toilets.
Information Panel at the Playground
Aboriginal women are strong and clever, we speak our sacred business in Woiwurrung, the language of our ancestors, the land. It's our sacred business, our language, we protect it, guard it and hand it down to our children.
Sitting on this spot with Donna Buang overlooking us, we would tell stories of a good hunting, fishing, especially the eel, an important traditional food source, enjoying their meal cooked on the fire; celebrating through paintings and story-telling, and laughing when we had to take shelter from the rain, the thunder, the lightning and storms.
We would be around a campfire shaped in a circle with the rocks pointing outwards. This would protect us it we had to get away quickly, the same way that 'Waa the crow' protected and guided my ancestors when trouble was around. We can see examples of women's business through the way the women made their blankets to keep their families warm from the cold, one blanket was made of a kangaroo skin, with possum skins sewn around the edges with the sinew that came from kangaroo tails.
Aboriginal women kept the language in their hearts knowing this time would come, when the land would call all people to know its language.
Nowadays, the mountains still look the same as they did for my ancestors, but this space will change as time changes to a new era, we will see different outlooks surrounding us, with beautiful colours overlooking us like a rainbow falling upon us, to make a glorious playspace for the community to bring their families and friends to reflect.
This Country still talks to me, it talks in a language as old as humanity, it speaks from somewhere deep inside our land, to something deep inside all of us.
by Doreen Garvey-Wandin, Wurundjeri Senior Elder
Photos:
Location
406 Woods Point Road, Warburton 3799 Map
