celebrationoffirstnations

Neddy wears a wonderful ornate plate, there was at least one other King Neddy, this one near Tharwa, Australian Capital Territory. - www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/aboriginal-breastplates/l...

And King Merryman stands with his friend Neddy in front of a tree that was marked as a site where Aboriginal people settled matters of law. www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/aboriginal-breastplates/p...

The children at the mission learned to read and write in Guugu Yimidhirr (which had been transcribed earlier by the missionaries), and the girls helped in the missionaries’ houses and in the garden. It was routine for the girls to be confined to a dormitory each night and to have limited access to their families. Initially, the missionary Wilhelm Poland supervised them closely at Elim while the senior missionary, Georg Heinrich Schwarz, attempted to establish a second station at Hope Valley. This arrangement was altered in 1890 after the older girls, including Mulun, secretly invited Guugu Yimidhirr boys into their dormitory at night. Thereafter the older girls were periodically sent to Hope Valley to stay with Schwarz. Source: ia.anu.edu.au/biography/mulun-magdalena-29712

The All Saints Anglican Church on Erub dates from 1919. It was constructed below the site of the original London Missionary Society Mission, house and school using local materials, including lime produced from burnt coral as well as basalt. Sited as it is, close to the location of these early mission buildings, ensures that it has a close link to the island’s history. The church building itself has changed and evolved over the years but has long been an important landmark on the island. The church was originally built under the guidance and direction of a local island man, Manai, assisted by a South Sea Islander man named Albert Ware. It underwent significant remodeling in 1963, the roofline was raised and internal walls were extended. Similar to when it was first built, local limestone from the surrounding reefs was used in this work. Erosion has been an ongoing problem for the building, necessitating the construction of a protective stone sea wall, in the mid-1970s, as a means of protecting the church from the effects of strong tides. All Saints is an important reminder of missionary activity in the Torres Strait and has always had a central role in the annual July 1 “Coming of the Light” celebrations, when islanders and others commemorate the arrival of the London Missionary Society in 1871. Acknowledging its importance to Queensland’s history, the All Saints Anglican Church is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register and survives as an important and prominent landmark in Erub’s built environment. Brian Randall - Senior Librarian, State Library of Queensland Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-places-all-saints-angl...