SWAN Hill District Health has raised the Torres Strait Island flag outside their hospital for the first time in the organisation’s history on Wednesday afternoon.
As part of National Reconciliation Week, a large crowd of community members joined in what was described as “a symbol of our dedication to learning about our shared history, cultures and achievements”.
The event was held on the 32nd anniversary of the flag being officially presented to Torres Strait Island at the sixth Torres Strait Cultural Festival on May 29, 1992.
Torres Strait Island man Tobias Fatnowna travelled from Cairns to perform a traditional cultural dance at the event, which he said was an exciting opportunity.
“The dance we performed was one choreographed by one of my great-grandfathers,” Mr Fatnowna said.
“This particular story is about a child leaving home, the journey itself and the elements he was experiencing when it was choreographed.
“The most important thing is to show this style of dance, growing up my entire family was heavily involved in cultural dance
“Being able to show that to other people and sharing the stuff that has been passed down to me means a lot to me.”
Mr Fatnowna said the flag’s importance to the Torres Strait Island people was huge.
“(The flag) is such a significant part of who I am, and it means so much when I see it so far from home,” he said.
“The flag itself is a geographical representation of the Torres Strait itself, when you see those colours – green, blue, black and white it gives me a really strong sense of belonging.
“I think raising the flag is important, especially in somewhere so rural where a lot of people may not understand that there are two Indigenous cultures here in Australia.
“This is an important step forward that we take to ensure that everyone understands the knowledge that was passed down through us and allow us to go forward and share that.”
Mr Fatnowna said that while Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal culture were strongly linked, it was important for people to recognise the two as separate.
“The main thing for people to remember is that Torres Strait Island people do exist,” Mr Fatnowna said.
“A lot of places that I’ve been to don’t even know what a Torres Strait Islander is, but we can’t disregard that there is another indigenous culture in Australia.
“By giving people that sense of understanding about Torres Strait Islanders, it makes them think ‘Why wasn’t I taught this at school?’
“But it’s also great to share that knowledge about how similar Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are.
“I like to see it as we are all a part of the same mob, but just two different tribes which is pretty cool.”
SHDH Kapel Telkuna unit manager Charmaine Anton said the large turnout showed how important the Swan Hill community found respecting Torres Strait Islander culture.
“This just shows that the community wants this,” Ms Anton said.
“People want to be a part of making change towards inclusiveness, not just at Swan Hill District Health but as a whole community.
“We have many Torres Strait Islander community members here in Swan Hill, who live and work here and are an important part of our community.
“I have so much pride and so much enthusiasm as I look towards the future of what we’ve got going on.
“It means that we are an inclusive service, and people are going to feel that this is a safe space where they feel welcomed and comfortable to come in to talk to us.”
