By Adrian Pyle, Director of Chaplaincy and Connections
On Tuesday 18 August, around 60 Year 6-8 students from Aitken College, Kingswood College, Geelong College, and Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School swapped their usual classrooms for Wesley Place in Melbourne, for a day that asked more of them than most excursions do, exploring the topic “Building a Brave Space: Engaging with First Peoples’ Truth”.
Adrian Pyle, Synod Director of Chaplaincy and Connections at eLM, welcomed the group, and Kano Ravalji, CEO of Third Culture, facilitated the day. Then the topic name set the tone with students writing their own “team contract”, agreeing to stay curious, be reflective, seek out knowledge and lived experience, and accept they wouldn’t necessarily get things perfect.
Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
Fittingly, the day began exploring the Country on which the event occurred. The Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation opened with the history and culture of the Traditional Owners of the central Melbourne area, grounding the day in a specific place and people.
Tarni Morris, First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria
From there, the day moved from Acknowledgement to an exploration of truth-telling. Tarni Morris, a Djab Wurrong, Kirrae Wurrong and Peek Wurrong woman and General Member of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, traced the long road to Treaty in Victoria, from the first calls in the 1970s to the election of the Assembly in 2019 and the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Australia’s first truth-telling process. Treaty, she reminded students, isn’t just a box to be ticked. Instead, it is a living relationship still being explored.
Tim Molineux, Uniting Church Social Justice Officer
Tim Molineux, Social Justice Officer with the Uniting Church’s Discipleship and Advocacy team, spoke on what it means to be a “Second Person” on this land. His answer centred on a distinction worth remembering: justice, not guilt. Guilt looks backward and gets stuck there. Justice looks at the truth of history and gets to work on a fairer future.
Third Culture
The final session turned reflection into practice, with a hands-on workshop on advocacy, activism and allyship, giving students real tools to carry the day’s ideas back into the world.
The Schools Challenge
Students then put it all to the test: name three things they’d learned, explain why it matters at their own school, design one realistic action to build understanding and belonging, and pitch it in two minutes. The ideas that came out of this were genuinely impressive. The day closed with a group photo and final remarks from Adrian Pyle. Our thanks to all our speakers and partners, and to the students and staff who made the day such a rich one.
