July 6th, 2015The Aboriginal flag is now flying at the Daylesford Town Hall
The flag was raised on Sunday, July 5 at 10.30am in in recognition of the traditional owners of Hepburn Shire, the Dja Dja Wurrung people and in recognition of indigenous culture, land and the living heritage that is unique to the region.
A Hepburn Shire spokesperson said it had “worked in collaboration with Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation to present this event but would encourage all members of the community to communicate with council about future reconciliation initiatives”.
“We look forward to working with traditional owners, local indigenous representatives and colleagues in reconciliation organisations to further discuss local government reconciliation initiatives in 2015-16.”
A new flag pole was recently erected at the town hall.
The move comes after Glenlyon’s Sissy Austin first led the New Year’s Eve parade in Daylesford and then approached Hepburn Shire Mayor Kate Redwood to see the Aboriginal flag flying.
Hepburn Shire was one of just eight councils in Victoria, of 79, which did not fly the flag.
The Local first reported on this January 19, 2015
Sissy Austin “100%” keen to see the Aboriginal
flag flying
SISSY Austin is a young woman on a mission.
The proud Gunditjmara woman is working on gaining recognition “for the first people of Hepburn Shire” and she’s winning.
First step was leading the New Year’s Eve parade in Daylesford with rousing cheers for the 20-year-old, family members and friends.
Sissy, pictured with her 13-year-old cousin Tinjani Austin, then uploaded a video of the event to her Facebook page which has had, at the time of writing, 3571 views.
She is hoping to lead other events and is also often called on to deliver the Acknowledgment to Country at a range of festivals and gatherings.
But the next big step is seeing the Aboriginal flag flying in Daylesford. And Sissy believes the current state of play within the Hepburn Shire Council is mostly a token approach.
“The Dja Dja Wurrung Corporation says it has a member sitting on a committee at the (Hepburn Shire) council but does the community know there is someone working in the town hall?
“Whatever is going on in there isn’t getting out to the community base level. It’s out of sight, out of mind. So what I am doing is getting it out into the community at the forefront of people’s minds. And I am getting heaps of support from the community.
“I, 100 per cent, want a flag flying. Of the 79 councils in Victoria only eight don’t fly the flag and Hepburn Shire is one of those.
“It’s insane. We have been told many reasons but the main one is because of the heritage overlay in the main street. That just doesn’t make sense to me – if it can’t go on the town hall there are other flag poles.”
Sissy said she had approached Mayor Kate Redwood after doing the Acknowledgment to Country at the Daylesford Community Fair last year and found she was “definitely supportive”.
“She said ‘I can’t help you with everything but we can fly the flag’.”
Sissy, who is the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education officer at Loreto College and a casual presenter for the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience, both in Ballarat, said she had made a conscious decision to focus on her own community this year.
“I usually travel to Ballarat for anything to do with my culture but this year I changed and decided I can do it in Daylesford as well. I was a bit nervous but the community support has been overwhelming.
“And if no one else is going to step up to the challenge of fighting to acknowledge the first people of this land I feel the need to as I have lived on Dja Dja Wurrung land my whole life.
“The land, the water, has taken care of myself and my family for 20 years so this is my way of paying my respects also.”
Cr Redwood said she personally totally supported council flying the Aboriginal flag “all the time like the Australian flag”.
“As you know, at present it is only flown on particular occasions eg NAIDOC week. The Ballarat Council flies both flags above the town hall all the time and we should too. I have asked to have our flag flying policy reviewed and I understand that is happening.
“This year as mayor I will be looking for ways in which we can recognise the Dja Dja Wurrung more widely. We need to go beyond just an acknowledgment at the beginning of meetings and events. I believe we need to arrange to meet again formally with their elders to discuss what they would see as appropriate. I think that they did this last year with Mt Alexander Shire with good results.”
But while Cr Redwood may be keen, Hepburn Shire Council Corporate Services general manager Grant Schuster said “in accordance with the Australian Flags guidelines and protocols issued by the Federal Government, only the Australian National Flag may be flown from the flagpole on Council’s buildings when we only have one flagpole”.
“However, council is able to fly other flags, including the Australian Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islander Flag, if we have more than one flag pole. Council has utilised its flagpole in Vincent Street, separate to the flagpole on the Daylesford Town Hall to fly the Australian Aboriginal Flag during NAIDOC Week and the National Reconciliation Week.”
