Team England visited Dreamworld Corroboree on the Gold Coast, Australia and took part in indigenous cultural training as part of their preparation for this year’s Commonwealth Games, which will take place April 4-15, 2018
Team England visited Dreamworld Corroboree on the Gold Coast, Australia and took part in indigenous cultural training as part of their preparation for this year's Commonwealth Games, which will take place April 4-15, 2018.
England’s Chef de Mission Sarah Winckless led a team on the Girrebba Programme, organised by the Yugambeh people of the Gold Coast.
They learnt about key aspects of the wider aboriginal culture and of the Yugumbeh people, including face painting, fire-making and art and their significance.
Girrebba roughly translates as “the awakening” and aims to help people recognise Australia's rich Aboriginal history.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the indigenous people of Australia, descended from groups that existed prior to British colonisation.
Archeaological evidence suggests the earliest human settlement in Australia was around 50,000 years ago, though other estimates have ranged up to 125,000 years.
There are many commonalities between the indigenous Australian communities, but also a great diversity of culture, customs and languages.
Following the visit, Winckless said that it was crucial for Team England to have an understanding of the culture and history of the host countries in which they compete.
It was an honour, she said, to learn about Australia’s indigenous people, and in particular the history of the Yugumbeh people, who shared their welcome to the country for the Games.
She added: “As a team, we acknowledge the traditional Yugumbeh language people of the Gold Coast and their elders both past and present.
“We will be sharing what we have learnt with the team back in England and putting our training into action on the Gold Coast next year.”
