The Yarnin' Project

John Harding, Rebecca McLean and Robert 'Bobby' Nicholls

Bobby Nicholls has long recognized the urgency to record his Elders stories. He approached John Harding, playwright and community leader, and asked him who he should take his idea to.

At around this time filmmaker Rebecca McLean who was working at Open Channel asked John about possible uses for a fully equipped Mobile Training Unit (bus) set up by Open Channel, partially funded by an Indigenous grant. The timing was right so Bobby, John and Rebecca took the idea to Open Channel's CEO at the time Jennie Hughes who jumped at the idea.

After much brain storming and fund raising Yarnin' was born - a co-production between Open Channel and Yarnin' Pictures - Bobby, Johnny and Rebecca.

The Yarnin' Project

Yarnin' is a mobile media training and recording program which documents Aboriginal Elders stories while simultaneously training Aboriginal youth in the art of film making.

Each student participates in every aspect from conducting interviews to using the camera, the sound equipment and editing facilities.

Each student completes a rough cut of a 4 to 5 minute short documentary profiling one Elder which is then fine cut by the Yarnin' team and uploaded to the Yarnin' website.

The interviews are held with Yarnin' Pictures and Open Channel in their archive and families can have access to their stories.

The Yarnin' Program provides a collection of Oral History that can be used for a wide variety of purposes. The short films have the potential to be shown in schools, festivals, community events. They can be showcased in Local Government settings as a Cultural Awareness Programs.

Each Elder’s story provides a valuable political history of the Victorian Aboriginal community, reinforce the wider range of issues and diversity that make up Aboriginal Victoria

It is important to remember that Yarnin' is one of the only cultural projects that engages on an intimate level with every Aboriginal community in Victoria. One of the benefits of this engagement is that these communities are provided with the opportunity to educate themselves about each of their histories. This website is the catalyst for that, providing valuable information on the similarities, connections and differences of the many nations that make up the State of Victoria.

The Yarnin' students are provided with an opportunity to work in a team on a creative project, and this for many of them is the first time they have had to collaborate utilising a creative process.

As they learn to give and take ideas, and share their own knowledge, this process reinforces their sense of self-esteem.

Over many years it has been proven that one’s sense of identity is inextricably linked to ones self-esteem.

The Yarnin' program works towards contributing to this link, by supporting the students to assist in the ‘storytelling’ and the maintenance and upkeep of these stories of their respective communities.

This is a role in Aboriginal communities that is very respected, as it is one that assists in a community educating itself about its own history. These students through the recording of their Elders stories of history, place and family connection, fulfil that vital role within their respective communities.

It has also been proven over many years, with statistics and research form the justice system to the Department of community Services, that there is a constant pattern that those Indigenous people who are constantly engaging with these authorities often suffer from lack of belief in their own identity and corresponding low self-esteem. The Age newspaper quoted ABS statistics in 2013, that 90% of Indigenous Juveniles in Detention in Victoria alone were or still are Wards of the State, thereby missing the vital cultural and familial connections that reinforce one’s own identity.

Paradoxically, by becoming a Yarnin' participant, the students are provided with the opportunity to engage with staff/members of the justice and welfare system in a positive way. This could be achieved simply by showing the films they have made both locally and state-wide to better educate public servants in general about the history and issues facing their respective Aboriginal communities.

Pictures believe that the subsequent films that are produced through our unique program serve to greatly enhance the participating students’ sense of self. ‘Yarnin' Pictures’ will record the voices and stories of the Elders of Victoria in an ongoing basis, provide the Aboriginal communities of Victoria with valuable resources of information, and cultural knowledge.

Pictures also provides an essentially important link for all Victorians to find out from the Elders who own it, the diversity, richness, knowledge and depth of the history of this State that we all must share.

John Harding BA, Dip. Ed

AWARDS

SheppArts - Short Film Festival

Yarnin' shorts win at the 2013 SheppArts Shorts Short Film Festival in Shepparton.

Yarnin' won Best Local Film and Best Festival Theme Film for it's film of the wonderful Margaret Briggs Wirrpanda.

About Aboriginal names

Because Aboriginal names were only ever spoken there have been many written versions recorded. We have attempted to include all the common variants. If we've forgotten any, or got something wrong, please contact us.

Produced with the assistance of