Unearthed and lesser-known stories from the Melton municipality will be shared as part of Melton’s annual Heritage Festival this month.
Opened on May 3 and running until May 17, a range of exhibitions, activities, and workshops will be held across Melton’s libraries, with a focus on lesser-heard and focused on stories from across the region.
This includes a cultural education event on Pakistani culture, historical board games for children, and an event sharing stories and archival material from post-World War II migrants.
An exhibition titled Healthy Country, Healthy People by Ngarrindjeri and Wirangu visual artist Keedan Rigney – currently hosted at CS Gallery in Caroline Springs – will head to the Caroline Springs Library on Sunday, May 11.
Rigney said this exhibition explores parallels between our mental and physical health and similar parallels in nature, drawing attention to the fact that “healthy people look after healthy Country better, and healthy Country in turn creates healthier people.”
“It also highlights the importance of how Country nurtures us rather than us looking at it like it’s a never-ending resource,” Rigney said.
“I think … particularly when we’ve looked at heritage in Australia, we separate Australian heritage with Aboriginal heritage, and I think that’s not a great way of working together as both First Nations and non-First Nations people moving forward,” he said.
“Aboriginal heritage is essentially Australia’s heritage in the prior 99 per cent of the country’s existence. It’s a long-standing culture, and what we look at as heritage, I think, as Australian heritage, is kind of focused on post-settlement.”
A list of locations and times for the events within the program is available on Melton’s website.
Details: melton.vic.gov.au/Heritage-Festival
