A collection of reconciliation stories by staff of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Foreword

Dhumba-nganjin means ‘talk, all of us together’ in the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung languages.

It is a very apt title for the Wirrigirri Sharing Stories activity which aimed to give staff in the department a way to talk together about reconciliation by sharing and listening to each other’s stories.

Over the past few months, we have done this through having conversations in staff kitchens, meeting rooms and over partitions, taking part in a series of lunchtime yarns with invited Aboriginal guests and by sharing written stories. The written stories are contained in this book.

It has been a privilege to be entrusted with people’s personal stories and humbling to be on the receiving end of emails from staff in the department who I have never met, who have wanted to contribute their story so they can add their voices to promoting reconciliation within the department.

Thank you to everyone who contributed a story. As you’ll see when you read your story alongside the stories of others, no story is the same, we all have different experiences and understandings. But all stories have something in common, though they describe it in different ways – a vision for a genuinely reconciled Australia and inclusive workplace, a commitment to improved understanding and a belief that we can do better.

On behalf of everyone who contributed a story, anonymously or named, we hope reading our stories will be a way for others in the department to reflect on what reconciliation means to them. And in doing so, help each of us build a better understanding, appreciation and celebration of Aboriginal culture, history and our shared way forward together.

Lorraine Langley

Wirrigirri Messenger