Benn Stewart is a proud Biripi man from Taree, working as the Head Teacher of Aboriginal Education at Taree High School. He speaks Gathang language of the Biripi and Worimi peoples on the Mid North Coast of NSW, and is a strong advocate for his culture and language.
There's a sense of healing when you speak language, when you start learning your native tongue. It's like you have a key that unlocks this part of you.
In this episode of Conversations on Country, Benn discusses ongoing work to revitalise the Gathang language through language classes and the creation of a Gathang dictionary. His own journey of learning Gathang helped Benn realise how much language is around us, such as in local place names. Tuncurry for example means having plenty of skin, referring to seeing the silver skin of fish reflecting in the water.
Our language was never lost, the right to speak it was taken away.
Wanyimbuwanyimbu ganyila, wanyimbuwanyimbu ganyiy Birrbay Barray.
Always was, always will be Biripi Country.
Conversations on Country is a series of stories of place, culture and being, shared by Elders of the Gumbaynggirr, Biripi, Dunghutti and Worimi nations from the Mid North Coast of NSW.
Follow Conversations on Country in the SBS Radio app, on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear all eight episodes in the series.
Conversations on Country is produced by Liz Keen & Simon Portous, Headline Productions and Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance.
Produced by Liz Keen & Simon Portous, Headline Productions with Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance
Host: Aunty Bea Ballangarry
Concept & Direction: Michelle Flanders
Cover art: Cassandra Sutton Photography
Music: Simon Portous
