Uncle Dozer with Bill Sutton. Credit: Emma Bugler.
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Uncle Dozer took to the stage at Sporties Barooga on Wednesday, July 16 to share yarns of hope and resilience this NAIDOC Week.
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Community members listened in reverent silence as the Bangerang Elder recounted stories about his life as a young man, including how he got the nickname ‘Dozer’, and his varied experiences growing up on the Cummeragunja Mission.
Among the crowd was Bill Sutton, a First Nations man and resident at Cobram Regional Care.
Over two dozen community members gathered to listen to Uncle Dozer.
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Owen Sinclair
“I wanted to come along and speak with Uncle Dozer about the families and the different tribes he knew growing up,” Mr Sutton said.
“Our stories connect us, and hearing his yarn helped bring back memories of my own upbringing.”
Mr Sutton was impressed by the stories of Uncle Dozer’s time growing up on the Cummeragunja Mission, which is famous today as the site of a mass walk-off of Indigenous Australians in 1939.
“It was powerful to hear,” Mr Sutton said.
“Hearing about growing up on the mission brought back a lot of feelings, the struggles, but also the strength.”
The event was part of Sporties’ NAIDOC Week celebrations.
Uncle Dozer is the voice behind Bullanginya Dreaming, the award-winning laser light show on the Bullanginya Lagoon that marries Bangerang culture with cutting-edge technology.
He said NAIDOC Week was a chance for Aboriginal people to build on the reconciliation journey.
“It’s a great opportunity for community to extend the invitation to wider Australia, or Australians, to come along and get involved in these events, and to understand the oldest living culture on the planet,” he said.
“I think we are fortunate, as Aboriginal people, that our Elders kept our stories and connection to Country alive, and connections to our sites of significance.
“And, for us to have an opportunity to share them stories, it cements the fact that our Country was not terra nullius.”
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