Learning about sacred scar trees on Taungurung Country is now a unique cultural tourism experience, thanks to the support of the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. Sharna Crosbie from wawa biik (Taungurung Cultural Experiences) explains how.
Tell us about the new cultural experience you are offering.
wawa biik has teamed up with Ngarga Warendj – an Indigenous art business owned and operated by Taungurung artist Uncle Mick Harding. Uncle Mick is a well-established artist who specialises in many different mediums including wood working, sculpture, and printmaking. Recently, Uncle Mick spent 10 months on Taungurung Country with his two sons creating a series of scar trees called We Scar Many Trees commissioned for the Art on the Great Victorian Rail Trail project. We Scar Many Trees was his way of passing down knowledge to his sons and celebrating the Taungurung story visibly in the landscape for all to see and learn from. This wawa dharrang experience, co-led by Uncle Mick, gives people the unique opportunity to meet and learn from the artist, understand the cultural significance of trees, and traverse beautiful Taungurung Country engaging in stories, song, language, laughs and learning.
How did the Creative Victoria grant help to get it off the ground?
We couldn’t have done this without funding support. The funding has paid for the artist engagement, the design and delivery of this new experience and has also enabled us to pilot new pathways and processes for wawa biik to partner with Taungurung community members that are living off Country. As a newly established cultural tourism business, we know we need to innovate and offer new experiences for diverse audiences. However, it takes time and resources to innovate, so we are very grateful to Creative Victoria for enabling this opportunity for us to get creative, collaborate with an established Taungurung artist and design something new and exciting for our visitors.
How did the development of this cultural experience come about?
wawa biik is both a platform for Taungurung People to share their proud story of Culture and Country and an opportunity for visitors to walk and learn alongside the Taungurung community. When Uncle Mick and his sons created the We Scar Many Trees works on Country, they’ve utilised an age-old cultural practice of scarring trees to create an engaging series of stories for people who may not know anything about Taungurung Culture. Their work tells their story of connection, belonging and identity but it connects to a deeper story of connection and care for their Country as Traditional Owners. The purpose of this work is far deeper than the art itself; it’s about passing on cultural knowledge to the next generation, it’s about cultural rights as Traditional Owners and it’s about ensuring the Taungurung story is activated on Country. We wanted to honour this work and provide visitors with the opportunity to meet the artists, connecting with Uncle Mick’s personal art story, family, and cultural connections.
What can visitors to the experience expect on the day?
Quality time on beautiful Taungurung Country with Uncle Mick and our guides, immersed in stories about connection, cultural practices, and cultural knowledge, all told through the lens of darrang (trees). Darrang are so important to the health of Country and as anchors to Taungurung living culture. We start with a Welcome Smoking Ceremony, visit three of Uncle Mick’s scar trees to learn the cultural stories and techniques, visit a traditional culturally modified tree, come together for a sit-down lunch featuring bush flavours and enjoy a stringybark rope making workshop.
Why is offering these sorts of experiences important?
It gives voice to Taungurung People and to Country, builds relationships and educates people about Culture. So many people didn’t learn about Culture at school. Now, it’s time for us all to step forward and take the time to learn and be inspired by the living cultures of places we live, work and visit. A cultural experience is a great way to learn – you are out immersed in sensorial connections to Country, you have genuine yarns with guides and get to hear personal stories. We’re all learning and re-connecting. It’s a proud journey that the Taungurung community would like everyone to be part of.
Any plans for other cultural tourism offerings?
wawa biik is entirely led by the needs and wants of the Taungurung community and our experiences are shaped around what stories they wish to share. We offer a range of guided experiences for corporate groups and the public already, in addition to this new pilot experience partnering with Ngarga Warendj. We hope that with future funding we can offer many more new experiences, co-designed and led by anyone in the Taungurung community who would like to share their proud story and knowledge. We want to work more with school groups too – getting young people excited by Country and Culture is so important.
Wawa Dharrang will run on 11 April and 30 May 2025 from the Yea Wetlands Discovery Centre, Yea. For information contact wawa dharrang | wawa biik wawa dharrang