FEATURES
A DEEP APPRECIATION
OF THE BEAUTY OF
TIWI
YEAR 11 IMMERSION – TIWI COLLEGE VISIT
For me , Tiwi was the best school trip I have ever been on . Being with a group of 12 mates and then to be thrown into the Tiwi culture was a camp like no other . To be in and around the communities at Tiwi College and on the Tiwi Islands was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will be forever grateful for having .
The welcoming and hospitable nature of everyone involved in the trip , from the college teachers , students , Tammy and Tippa , and the local communities made us all feel comfortable in the new environment of the islands and ensured a smooth running of the camp .
We were always full of good food and had lots of water whenever we needed it , keeping us energised for the big days of activities . Every day we were trying something new , which made the experience one of a kind . There were no complaints about any of the activities on the camp .
All the activities took us to new levels of understanding of Indigenous heritage and culture that so many people don ’ t get to experience . We were involved in rituals and visited historic settings where for thousands of years the Tiwi people have lived .
Whether it was walking through local communities on Bathurst Island , being at the local primary school or seeing Indigenous artwork and meeting the artists , fishing on beaches that are so
far from urban life , hanging out with the Tiwi College students – it all gave me a deeper appreciation and understanding of what a beautiful place not only Tiwi is and their people are , but Australia is as a whole .
We have been lucky enough to do this trip through Scotch with our mates , and this trip has created so many strong memories for those of us in the Indigenous Partnership Program . They are memories that will be with us forever and experiences that we do not get to practise or do in our daily lives . We will now have the privilege of sharing these memories with so many people across our lives .
I am fortunate to have spent this trip with my mates , where our already strong friendships were drawn closer from the new experiences we were enjoying . In becoming closer , our experience on the camp was made even better than anyone could have hoped for . We were all able to make new mates from this camp in the students at Tiwi College , by being around their school life in the week that we were there .
A big thanks goes to Scotch and Tiwi College , Mr Glover , Mr Clark , Ms McCowan , Ms Morrison and Mr Butcher for enabling this camp to go ahead .
HARRY RITCHIE – YEAR 11
FOOTBALL MATCH AT XAVIER COLLEGE , WURRUMIYANGA , BATHURST ISLAND
20 Great Scot