The regional Victorian city of Ballarat is marking January 26th with a survival day event, being held for the fifth time this year.
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00:00 It's the fifth year Ballarat has hosted a Survival Day Dawn Ceremony here on the foreshore
00:06 of Lake Wendaree on Wadawurrung Country.
00:10 About 300 people gathered this morning for the ceremony which kicked off at 5.30am.
00:15 There was dancing, singing, guest speakers and a smoking ceremony.
00:21 Speakers did talk about the massacres in times past which created a very emotional, reflective
00:28 and sombre mood.
00:30 People came together in solidarity to remember ones who had been lost.
00:35 But there was also this sense of hope and optimism.
00:39 Speakers spoke about the children that are part of the ceremony as creating this sense
00:44 of hope for the future that they're embracing the culture, language and their mob.
00:50 I spoke with Miriam Wilman, Deb Lower-Clark who talked about the significance of the event.
00:56 Today and what it means over the course of my life is ebbed and flowed.
01:01 The more you know, the more you understand.
01:04 For me in my cultural space, it's a space of understanding that people recognise Australia
01:11 as a great country.
01:12 But for this morning and for this day, it's a day of mourning.
01:16 It's a survival day.
01:17 And if we're going to talk celebration, it's a celebration of resilience.
01:21 It was one of the first regional councils to host this type of ceremony and it's grown
01:27 year on year.
01:28 And this year for the first time, the cultural activities will continue throughout the day
01:33 with poetry, didgeridoo, ochre education workshops and a smoking ceremony to finish out the day.
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