Summary

Digital photograph depicting two handwoven baskets resting on sacred women's ground at Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association in Hastings, Boon-Wurrung / Bunurong Country, on 25 February 2021. The two baskets depicted in this picture were hand-weaved by Aunty Jennine Armistead and donated to Museums Victoria in February 2021.

Willum Warrain, which translates to "home by the sea" in the Boon Wurrung language by Westernport, is an Aboriginal Community-controlled organisation that provides a safe cultural space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the Mornington Peninsula. It officially opened in 2014, but had been in the works under various other names and operations since the late eighties. With over 450 Aboriginal members as at December 2020, it provides a range of programs for its Aboriginal community members, including a Women's group, a Men's group, a Deadly Kids group, a Bush Play group (for younger kids and toddlers) a Gardening group (open to non-Indigenous members as well) and a Welcome to Country ceremony for babies. During COVID-19, Willum Warrain was forced to close its' gates and discontinue on-site activities, however the community remained connected via Zoom, phone and community activities such as the provision of food and medicine deliveries to Elders.

At the time this photograph was taken in February 2021, Willum Warrain had opened its' gates again, which was a welcome relief for many of the women that were partaking in the Women's Group activities that day. Taneisha Webster - Executive Officer of Women's Business at Willum Warrain, proud Wathaurong woman and friend to Aunty Jennine - spoke in a 2020 interview with Mornington Peninsula Magazine about the importance of Willum Warrain for Aboriginal women: 'Willum Warrain's sacred space for women and children to gather safely not only builds female-to-female bonds, but also offers a place for all women to sit in their Aboriginal identity. This is a space for women only. There is equity here and a cultural engagement which Aboriginal women may not be getting anywhere else. Everyone has a voice. No one ever feels shamed, and the importance of sharing positive cultural memories with female Aboriginal Elders gives a sense of intergenerational connection while building future relationships. We have a lot of fun too. Whether it's participating in ceremony, dance, or dancing with our children, harvesting bush tucker and resources, weaving or art, the key purpose of women's business at Willum Warrain is to be Aboriginal. Learn about culture. Live women's culture.'

Aunty Jennine Armistead, a proud Yaran woman from the Padthaway region in South Australia, originally lived in Tennant Creek and Darwin before moving to Victoria later in life upon meeting and marrying her husband. In the interview she describes feeling like a 'lost soul' until she discovered Willum Warrain: 'I'd been lost for a long time, not belonging anywhere, having been taken out of the desert and brought down here. And walking in through Willum Warrain gates, it was like, Thank god I'm home. I automatically had a sense of belonging.' Aunty Jennine learnt how to weave baskets at Willum Warrain, and speaks in the interview about the importance of connecting to traditional knowledge systems and cultural practices, and passing these practices on to others. Weaving baskets and giving them away to strangers during COVID-19 was, for Aunty Jennine, a way to pass on a piece of her own story: 'In our culture, sharing is very important', she reflected in the interview: 'In the Indigenous culture, you share. And you must share.'

In a written diary entry written on Day 5 of COVID-19 lockdowns in August 2020, Aunty Jennine reflected on her experience of weaving baskets and giving them away to strangers:

'I pick up my fibres and strings and commence weaving to ease the pain of isolation and loneliness. Not being able to see my family, my friends and children, is heartbreaking. At least weaving allows my mind to wander and I become lost in the good memories or even the bad ones. As I weave I reflect on my life like I have never been able to do before. It's the unnatural silence that allows this opportunity.I gather up a dozen or so baskets and go out to my little pink stall where I have plants for people to take. I chat to them and look into their eyes. Some are sadder than others; they say they are almost at breaking point. I offer them a hug, a human touch, and I give them one of my baskets that I have especially made for them. Every stitch is a memory from my youth to old age, every stich is a memory of happiness or pain that makes up my life's story. May my ancestors spirits look kindly on all who see my humble work; may she look with pride on what my life has become.'

Physical Description

Born digital photograph, TIFF format.

Significance

This is one of a series photographs that were taken by curator Catherine Forge to document the story of Aunty Jennine Armistead and her wider connection to the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association during COVID-19. These photographs are accompanied by an oral history interview and several items that were donated by Aunty Jennine Armistead including: 2 x handwoven baskets, a handwritten diary entry and a Willum Warrain 'Black and Deadly' T-Shirt. These were all collected with support from the Office for Suburban Development for the Museums in My Neighbourhood Project and digital exhibition, and now form part of Museums Victoria's Collecting the Curve: COVID-19 Pandemic Collection.

This collection of Willum Warrain items represent a wide range of COVID-19 related storylines including: daily life during lockdown, local neighbourhood connections, gardening, kindness and gift giving, and the emergence of new neighbourhood traditions. These items also symbolise and reflect a deeper story of First Peoples cultural knowledge and community connection, including storylines around truth telling, Stolen Generations, resilience, solidarity and intergenerational cultural exchange. These items will provide a lasting reminder of the community support activities of Willum Warrain members during COVID-19, as well as the importance of place, connection to Country and the vital role of First Peoples cultural knowledge and customs during the COVID-19 pandemic, and always.

More Information