CYCLING FOR CULTURE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:10): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation. Will the minister advise how the culture of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the land we stand on today, is being conserved and shared with the wider South Australian community?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (15:11): It is with surpassing pleasure that I can say, yes, I can. It is well known that, as a result of colonial settlement, many Aboriginal languages around Australia have been lost forever. Aboriginal culture is traditionally oral based, which has meant that, when a teacher of the language has died without passing on that knowledge, that knowledge has been lost to the community.

The Kaurna language of the Adelaide Plains was believed to have been last spoken on a daily basis during the 1860s. Since then, the language has remained in a dormant state, if you like, and most of what is known of the Kaurna language was found in the recordings of a number of now deceased Kaurna elders recorded by German missionaries many years prior.

It was not until the early 1990s that a concerted effort by a number of Kaurna elders in Adelaide and surrounds led to a decision to begin a reclamation effort of their language. Not long after that, thanks to the efforts of these trailblazers, the Kaurna language began being taught at the Kaurna Plains School. Since then, much progress has been made in recognising Kaurna culture and the Kaurna language. Many places in Adelaide have Kaurna names and so do many services and support networks for Aboriginal people in Adelaide.

In 2002, the Kaurna Warra Pintyandi (or KWP), a school and place of research for the purposes of reclaiming the Kaurna language, was established by a number of Kaurna elders, teachers, linguists and other researchers, with the support of the University of Adelaide. Today, the KWP is now the lead body in developing and promoting the Kaurna language. Of course, as with all bodies such as this, they rely significantly on community support.

In respect of this, the KWP, the Kaurna elders and Kaurna people themselves, together with their supporters, launched Cycling for Culture, a fundraising program that helps not only conserve and promote Kaurna culture but also health and wellbeing through the physical pursuit of cycling. Just last week, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of a three-day ride, led by the program's celebrity riders, Mr Patrick Jonker, a well-known Australian professional cyclist and, of course, the 2004 first overall Tour Down Under winner, and the Port Power All Stars Gavin Wanganeen and Che Cockatoo-Collins.

This bike ride lasted over three days and followed a route designed in conjunction with Kaurna elders which shows off Kaurna country's beautiful landscapes, cultural sites of significance and teachings from the Tjilbruke Dreaming. Riders travelled over 275 kilometres from the Kaurna Living Cultural Centre in Marion and then along the South Coast to Normanville on the first day. They then travelled up through Willunga and McLaren Vale on day 2 and back through Mount Lofty up to Salisbury and back to Adelaide on day 3. The ride had a core group of riders but also a number of participants who took up the ride on certain days, including His Excellency the Governor, who participated in the last day of the ride. I am sure he was a much safer rider than I would have been.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Did you do any riding with them, minister, up Willunga Hill?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: In answer to the Hon. Mr Brokenshire's interjection, I did not ride with the participants. I thought it safer—

The Hon. G.E. Gago interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: My honourable leader is flattering me, sir. I think that, for community safety and wellbeing, my not being in lycra is probably the best course of action for me! This event, Cycling for Culture, is a great way to raise money and awareness for the Kaurna culture, as well as the health and wellbeing benefits a big ride like that can achieve, I am told.

At the launch, Che Cockatoo-Collins told me how this ride had inspired him to get fit again and also to reconnect with the many Kaurna elders he has met and come to know throughout his life in South Australia. I think he probably dropped about 10 kilograms in preparation for this ride and, indeed, he did look very fit. I hope he had a very enjoyable ride.

Whilst we still have a long way to go in recognising and conserving Kaurna culture, there is no doubt that we have come a long way in the past few decades. Kaurna language is being taught to a number of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students at all levels of education, I am told—early childhood, primary, secondary and, indeed, tertiary. We now have over 40 per cent of public schools offering Aboriginal cultural studies in their curriculum.

Events like this one help get the message out about the need to preserve Kaurna culture and also provide new ways for those not yet exposed to Kaurna culture to hear more about that culture and the traditional owners of this place that we call Adelaide.

I congratulate the Cycling for Culture team for organising this event. I particularly congratulate Ms Katrina Power and Stephen Goldsmith, who were instrumental in its development. I commend to the chamber this event and, if honourable members would like to look it up on search engines, they can make a contribution to this very worthy cause.