The Malgana and Yinggarda elder's mother feared her children would be taken away if she taught them their language, so he is learning it now with members of his coastal WA community.
An Emergency Warning level is in place for Segenhoe, in the Upper Hunter area of NSW. Keep up to date withParticipants in a Malgana language workshop, some as young as five or six, are learning how to pronounce new words.
"When I was young I asked my mum to teach me language and Mum said, 'I can't teach you because I'm not allowed to','' Mr Dorey says. Facilitator Kym Oakley's great-grandmother was one of the last fluent speakers of the Malgana language, and there are recordings of her and other elders speaking it. "So once I got over that initial shock of hearing her, because she had passed three years beforehand, so to hear her voice again was a little bit confronting, but I knew that I had to push through it to hear exactly how to say the words correctly," she says.
Local resident Pat Oakley started learning the language, along with her family, several years ago and used it to perform a song, written by her brother, commemorating Shark Bay's history. "It's a part of our culture, it's embedded through everything that we do, when sit and we look around here in this beautiful country."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rio Tinto in solar farm deal with Forrest foes Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation, led by Michael WoodleyRio Tinto is looking to a traditional owner group at war with Andrew Forrest to supply renewable energy to its iron ore operations.
Read more »
After a bruising Voice vote, Aboriginal Victorians turn focus to treatyAs they work through the hurt and anger, leaders say First Nations people know treaty is the way forward, but the road just got a lot bumpier.
Read more »
Protesters condemn excavation of Aboriginal ancestral remains at Riverlea housing projectProtesters at a government-backed housing project in Adelaide's north are condemning the way Aboriginal ancestral remains are being treated.
Read more »
There are no emus on Kangaroo Island, so why is there an Emu Bay?Kangaroo Island, off mainland South Australia, has an Emu Bay but no emus after they died out — twice.
Read more »
‘Lizard Rock’ housing development re-named still fails to win over localsAn Aboriginal land council’s ‘unpopular’ plans to build 450 homes on Sydney’s northern beaches may have influenced the area’s Voice result, the local member alleged.
Read more »
Magnitude-5.0 earthquake near Great Ocean Road town of Apollo Bay felt by thousands of VictoriansA magnitude-5.0 earthquake recorded near Apollo Bay just after 2am is felt by thousands of Victorians, and as far away as Tasmania's King Island.
Read more »