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BOARD MEETING REPORT
  1. Board Representative on the Risk-and-Audit Committee
The Board elected Mick Harding as the Board’s representative on the newly-formed TLaWC Risk-and-Audit Committee (RAC).
The RAC is a sub-Committee of the Board and will meet for the first time at the end of March.
Its role is to have oversight of all TLaWC’s financial arrangements to ensure that risk is well-managed and that any audit issues are properly handled.
It will be chaired by Nathan Morsillo, who was formerly the head of finance at the Central Land Council in Alice Springs and is now the head of finance at the Bendigo City Council.
  1. Return of Taungurung Research Material Held by FNLRS
The CEO of First Nations Legal and Research Services (FNLRS), Tony Kelly, and the FNLRS Research Manager, Mick O’Kane, met with the Board to discuss the return of research materials to TLaWC.
It was agreed that this would involve a long process that would need to be very carefully undertaken.  A joint TLaWC/FNLRS working group would be set up in due course to agree on priorities and best practice.
  1. Appointment of Director to Fill Casual Vacancy on the Board 
The Board appointed Steve Walsh to fill the vacancy on the Board created when Sherryn Antonopoulos was appointed to a staff position at TLaWC.
Steve will fill the role until the AGM, at which time there will be an election for the vacancy.
  1. Election of New Deputy Chair
The Board elected Matt Shanks to the position of Deputy Chairperson, replacing Sherryn.
  1. Appointment of RSA Implementation Manager
Matt Burns informed the Board that Chris Casey had been appointed to the new position of RSA Implementation Manager.
Chris brings his legal training to the role and is doing important work in preparing systems and arrangements for the commencement of the RSA Agreements.
  1. Implementation of the Outcomes of the Family Engagement Project
The Board received a progress report on the followup from the engagement project, when a series of Taungurung family meetings were held in late 2017 and early 2018.
The Board is confident that much progress has been made in implementing the plan that came out of the family meetings, whilst noting that there is more to do yet to implement all the key recommendations.


Chris Marshall
General Manager (Administration & Corporation Development)
BAAN GANALINA
1. 
Before the end of last year Baan Ganalina finalised the water chapter of our Country Plan, Baan Dhumba-Dji-Ngan Murndak Gunga.

The group held two working gatherings where water objectives were discussed and details were refined. The Baan Ganalina also developed indicators that will help us to track our progress.

The water chapter, Taungurung Baan Dhumba-Dji-Ngan Murndak Gunga, builds on Baan Ganalina's water objectives and strategies. The document will inform the future work of Baan Ganalina. 

2.
Baan Ganalina initiated an engagement process with the three Catchment Management Authorities in Taungurung Buk to develop a Regional Catchment Strategy for each of them. This process will continue throughout 2020 and will allow us to integrate our traditional knowledge and aspirations regarding water management into their planning documents.

This is a big step towards better water governance in our country. 

3.
Aboriginal Waterways Assessments (AWA) will continue during 2020. Baan Ganalina’s goal is to conduct at least three assessments and to revisit sites that were part of previous projects. This work is essential for Taungurung to continue assessing rivers and wetlands, but also to develop an evaluation tool that enables the monitoring of the proposed management actions and recommendations we provided to the water managers. 


Alejandro Voysest
Water Management Officer
RSA IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER

As some members know, I’ve been working casually with TLaWC since late last year. I’m extremely pleased to now be employed as the RSA Implementation Manager.

I have a long history of working with community organisations and one of my first legal positions was with Native Title Services Victoria in 2003/4.

At that time 
I attended one of the early Taungurung native title meetings.

Back then we only dreamed of the current outcomes, but we’re all aware there is still much to be achieved. 
I live on Dja Dja Wurrung country in Bendigo.

I look forward to meeting you all.

Regards, 

Chris Casey

CULTURAL CEREMONY

Jo Honeysett recently performed a Welcome to Country for the Macedon Ranges Shire Council at Black Hill Reserve, Kyneton -- on Taungurung country. 

The event was held to celebrate the launch of the Macedon Ranges Statement of Planning Policy. The document celebrates the links between Country and Traditional Owners and the Shire and deals with the planning issues around town development and environmental planning.

The approval was convened with the successful partnership of the Taungurung, Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, MRSC and responsible public entities. There was some significant community support and involvement also.


Photo :  Janet Pearce - Mayor, Alice Kolasa - Wurundjeri, Richard Wynne MP, Mary-Anne Thomas MP, Jo Honeysett - Taungurung, Rodney Carter - Dja Dja Wurrung.
 

Photos : Kathy Mexted
SONGLINES PROJECT

A meeting is scheduled for Friday, 6 March in relation to a Taungurung songlines project.
The meeting will take place at the Alexandra office at 10.30am.

We are after any mob who can bring knowledge about significant places that may link to our songlines. 
Everybody is welcome.


Here is an extract of an update from Duane Hamacher, (University of Melbourne researcher) regarding the project.

"We now have a letter of support and for the project to proceed we need ethics approval, and funding.

The research side involves three major components, all done in constant consultation with TLaWC:

1. Archival Research. This involves poring through all of the published literature, unpublished archives, field-notes, language dictionaries etc to find any and all references to astronomy and culture relating to Taungurung and surrounding communities; visiting libraries, museums, and digging through the online academic literature.


2. Archaeological Research. Visiting and studying any site or material culture that could relate to the stars. Stone arrangements, rock art, cultural sites, artefacts, etc. are all part of this.
 
3. Ethnographic Research. This involves interviewing elders and knowledge custodians about traditional knowledge relating to the stars and Songlines. This primarily involves interviews, which means we need ethics clearance from the university and funding for Elders' time and travel reimbursements.

There is a lot of exciting work we can do. We can start the archival component of the project now and start getting the forms in for ethics approval and for funding. It will take time."

I also want to let you all know that I will be having a coordination role with this project and will be giving you updates from time to time. 

I encourage you all to attend the meeting at Alexandra on Friday 6 March (see Events at bottom of this newsletter)


Corlene Button
Songlines Project Coordinater

NEW STAFF VACANCY

Position Vacant
Administrative Support Officer (Alexandra)
 
A new position is available in the Alexandra office to assist with admin and reception duties.
The role will also include supporting Marcus Stewart with treaty matters – organising meetings and information.The position is part-time (three days per week) and we are keen to appoint a suitable person as soon as possible.

Taungurung people are very much encouraged to apply.
The Job Description will soon be on the TLaWC website.

Applications should be sent to
admin@taungurung.com.au

by Friday 13 March.
ABORIGINAL LANGUAGE

We congratulate Steve Walsh on completing the Certificate III in Endangered Aboriginal Language.

He completed this over twelve months and it comprised ten units of study.

The Certificate III contributes towards studies for a Certificate IV in teaching the language. 

Steve thanks Aunty Lee Healy for supporting him with this language study.

TAUNGURUNG NAME
TLaWC’s Language Reference Group discussed the spelling of our group name and one of our linguists, Prof Barry Blake, provided the following advice which we thought we would share with the mob.
 
The name Taungurung, like a number of other names for languages in south-east of the mainland, is based on a word for ‘no’ recorded variously as ta-goongtargoon , thagothaog and  ta-goo. The digraph th represents a dental t, which can sound just like ordinary English t or a little bit like th. Disyllabic words tend to have an optional extra ng at the end, so the form was probably thagu alternating with thagung. The second part of the name is the Kulin word for language wurru or wurrung.
The fullest form of the Taungurung name is therefore Thagu-wurrung, but nearly 150 versions are recorded in the old sources (Clark 1990:370).
The spelling Taungurung used in the present dictionary, grammar and Yarnin Up booklet is a good choice. It recognises a pronunciation where g and w are omitted as in many old spellings such as Taongerong and Taungurong. The omission of w from wurrung is like the omission of w in our pronunciation of names like Woolwich and Dulwich and fits with the current pronunciation of names like Tjapwurrung, where the w is sometimes omitted in pronunciation, and Wathaurung, where w is regularly omitted in pronunciation following the spelling.  An initial th could be used in the spelling of Taungurung. This would be accurate in capturing the dental sound, but it would lead to people pronouncing th as in thistle and that doesn’t sound at all authentic.
 
Clark, I.D. 1990. Aboriginal languages and clans. Clayton: Monash Publications in Geography.

 
EVENTS
Taungurung Songlines Meeting
Friday,
6 March 2020
at 10.30 am

 
TLaWC Offices
42-46 Aitken Street
ALEXANDRA  Vic  3714
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Taungurung Land & Waters Council · 37 High St · Broadford, Vic 3658 · Australia