Aboriginal ceremony "cleanses" Royal North Shore site

Monday 21 May 2007

Above: Uncle Max performs the traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony to cleanse the Research & Education Building site smoking ceremony.	Above: Djahn Doolan and Arthur Tamwoy perform after the smoking ceremony.
Above: the project team on site with the performers.	Above: "Didg" player Djahn Doolan shows Professor Michael Field how its done!

Members of the lower North Shore Aboriginal community and Royal North Shore Hospital staff today participated in a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony on the site of the new $61 million research and education facility.

"The smoking ceremony is a powerful symbol of healing which emphasises the resilience of the Aboriginal nation and its connection to this land," said Royal North Shore General Manager, Mrs Mary Bonner.

"It's also an important reminder to all people that this has been a significant place of healing for over 120 years and will continue to be important for generations to come."

The traditional Aboriginal ceremony was performed by Budjedi elder Uncle Max Eulo on behalf of the local Guringai nation.

Northern Sydney was the land of the Guringai people and home of the Cammeraygal clan who inhabited the lower North Shore and Cammeray area.

Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service Director of Aboriginal Health, LaVerne Bellear, said the smoking ceremony was a spiritual milestone for the project.

"In urban areas, the landscape has been altered so much that it is easy to forget the traditional connection between Aboriginal communities and the land," Ms Bellear said.

"The ceremony is an important way of reconnecting Aboriginal people with the land, and educating the non-Aboriginal community about traditional beliefs.

"We hope today's ceremony will cleanse the past and open all of us up to new opportunities for learning and healing in the future."

The ceremony was accompanied by a traditional Aboriginal celebration of singing and dancing.

The Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council, which is the official custodian of the Guringai land, was also represented at today's official ceremony.

The construction of the new research and education facility, due to be completed by late 2008, is the first step in a major redevelopment of the RNSH site.

The completion of the new research and education facility will allow for the start of work on the new main hospital building for RNS. The new main building is expected to be completed by 2012.