FLYING THE FLAG
A student-driven mission to celebrate diversity has resulted in a better understanding and respect for indigenous and Torres Strait Islander cultures within the school
It started out as girls putting their heads together — now these Gold Coast students are setting the trend by recognising diversity.
WHAT started out as a group of girls coming together each week to discuss current events has grown into a ceremony with more significance than many may realise.
As three members of the St Hilda’s School International Group sat down for their prefect orientation at the beginning of the year, they decided exactly what they wanted to do — come up with a way to celebrate their school’s diversity.
According to Global Citizenship Prefect Tara-Rois McNamara, the students settled on a plan to have the indigenous and Torres Strait Islander flags flown alongside the Australian one.
“We contacted the local member of Parliament Steven Ciobo about organising the flags and where we’d collect them from, so one afternoon we went down to his office and collected the flags,” she said.
From there they organised flagpoles for both the flags, as well as arranging for them to be presented at an all-school assembly, where Ms McNamara said she gave a speech on the meaning behind the gesture.
“I’ve always been a member of the school’s Amnesty International group and the International Group, so I really felt strongly about recognising all the diverse cultures we have here at school,” she said.
“So did the two other girls, and so we thought the flags would be a great way to do this as we do have a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders.”
Among those boarders is Year 12 student Yellagunjimurra Yanner, who began attending St Hilda’s in Year 8 after moving from far north Queensland.
Ms Yanner, who comes from the Gangalidda tribe, and other boarders have come together to create a NAIDOC Week banner, which she said brings together several elements.
“It has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women such as Cathy Freeman … it has the handprints of the girls in boarding,” she said.
“It has NAIDOC written down the middle, both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag, and the theme for this year’s NAIDOC, ‘Because of Her We Can’.”
Head of Humanities Katrina Wain said both teachers and students had been delighted.
“I think it’s brilliant, it’s wonderful to see that they’re passionate about so many issues, and also to see that they’re willing to go through the various levels of administration to pursue this and see that it comes to fruition.”