On Monday 25th July, the Aboriginal and Intercultural Year 12 class become the FIRST official student group to visit the Fanny Bulbuk Yooreel Statue!
Mrs Cathy Santarelli’s class undertook a walk of the City that looked at past, present and future perspectives, focussing specifically on the Wadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. And of course, we could not walk the city without seeing the statue commemorating Fanny Bulbuk Yooreel!
We also visited the Boola Bardip museum and the Art Gallery and went to King’s Park before returning to school.
What do students think about this excursion?
“The excursion our Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies class took this week was a unique experience for everyone. Visiting Government House and the statue of Fanny Balbuk Yooreel was eye opening and amazing to see how Aboriginal peoples, especially women their history and culture are now being recognised. It is important to recognise and understand the past and present of Indigenous culture and how we can move forward in the future.” – Ruby Year 12
“I was very fascinated by the Fanny Balbuk Yooreel. I liked the positioning of the statue with the map of Perth’s waters in front of her. I liked how her digging stick was included and that she was also bare footed.” – Dwoki Year 12
“We learned about Fanny Balbuk Yooreel and the history of the statue in class prior to the excursion but being able to see the statue in person at the Government House was such an amazing experience! It was so fascinating learning and hearing the stories of why she plays such an important role in Perth.” – Lilah Year 12
“She was truly an inspiring Woman, it is warriors like Fanny that make us proud to be Aboriginal. The way they displayed Fanny in this sculpture really captures her strong and determined personality. They did an amazing job displaying the strong woman Fanny was. I feel honoured to have seen Fanny’s statue in person, her powerful presence and inspiring stories that tell of her strong personality have been captured perfectly in the statue” – Keneesha Year 12
“I thought it was very amazing to see the first statue of an Aboriginal Woman Fanny Bulbuk Yooreel. It shows her holding a digging stick which represents her culture in Perth today, we learnt so much about her both in class and with the interesting brochures we were given at the Government House.” – Abbey Year 12
St Brigid’s College teaches Aboriginal and Intercultural Studies – a General course for Years 11 and 12. The course focuses on the contribution to culture, history and stories by the First Nations People of Australia. Additionally, some reading and study of other First Nations Peoples of the world are included.
Read an article published by the Government House Western Australia here: https://govhouse.wa.gov.au/visiting-balbuk/.
