The rodeo hits town

The rodeo was in full swing at the local Fitzroy rodeo grounds this weekend! Whips were whacking and cracking, bulls were bucking, and the crowds jeering and cheering. Kids and families came out in big numbers to watch, and participate. There was a fantastic community atmosphere of all getting behind the talents and courage of local riders and stockmen.

 

Our CEO, June Oscar joined Gillarong Community Inc as the Vice Chair to put on this great event. June and people throughout the region have a deep attachment and ongoing involvement with station life. The Kimberley is steeped in a recent heritage of families living and working on cattle stations. There are many fascinating family connections and troubling tensions and inequalities associated with the pastoral industries involvement across Northern Australia. There is joy, pain, nostalgia and anger when people reflect on station life. These are some of the many contradictory emotions Marninwarntikura is exploring as we come to fully appreciate intergenerational trauma, resiliencies, strengths and the dynamic nature of contemporary culture.  

The national narrative of Aboriginal people’s engagement in station life is epitomised in Lingiari’s and the Gurindji’s Wave Hill walk off in their fight for equal wages and later land rights. The ramifications were felt nation-wide. Fitzroy Crossing’s existence was born from this story. In the late 70s people were forced from their station life and set up camp around the banks of the mighty Fitzroy River. Station owners insisted that they could not afford to keep workers on with the introduction of equal wages.

Still, station life and rodeo-ing hold an important place in people’s hearts. Rodeos have been running for years at the local grounds. An important event to bring together the life of the distant stations, creating community cohesion around the often spectacular skills of managing challenging and sometimes unruly and dangerous stock, clowning (by no means funny, instead nerve racking to watch as they run rings around the bulls) and riding horse and bull back.

The Gillarong Rodeo was grounded in this tradition of showcasing the talents and pure enjoyment of so many people involved in the Kimberley’s largest industry. It also reinforced peoples love and pride for this unique outback culture and way of life.

Marninwarntikura promoted the family feel of the event and the importance of coming together in celebration of culture, leisure activities, and rough, tough and committed work. We also strongly supported the advocacy messages of ‘no silence on domestic violence’, and raising awareness on youth suicide.

We’ve heard in recent weeks from women sitting in our yarning circles that we need more family events, where everyone can come together without alcohol and enjoy each other’s company. Four women working at Marnin acted on this and set up a food stall, selling their delicious home cooked stews, rice, damper and chilli relish. That’s what the rodeo was – an alcohol free space of fun and entertainment for all the children and their families to come together and drive the action, the selling of food, play the music and, ultimately, own the space. It was the perfect way to celebrate the strength of the Fitzroy Valley community on a hot and stormy weekend.