A group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal boys from years 7-10 had the opportunity to participate in a didgeridoo workshop lead by Alex Nean from Wallsend High School. Over a six week period the boys worked with Alex to strip, shape, fill and decorate their own didgeridoos.
They were encouraged to decorate their didgeridoos based on their mob’s totems and most boys were able to find this information. In the process they also learnt a lot about their mob and for some it was the first time they had done any research into their past. We are extremely grateful to Alex for helping us with the program. The boys performed for the first time at NAIDOC Week celebrations and are excited to continue working as a group.
Angus Year 7
Over the six weeks we have created fully functional didgeridoos. Each one is very unique and tells a story.
The process to create the didgeridoos was first to strip the bark down to the core of the tree, then we sanded and oiled, gave a saw dust and glue glaze coat the make the paint look better and the final step was to decorate.
I decided to, instead of painting, just oil to give that nice gloss brown effect and to give it a natural look. I also decided to have a layer of bark at the bottom of the didgeridoo to give it a little more feature.
I thought that getting the opportunity to create a didgeridoo was a really good opportunity. I really enjoyed the experience. I really look forward to continue to work on my didgeridoo and to keep working with the boys and work on our playing.
Immanuel Year 8
Over the six weeks I have made a didgeridoo where I have stripped the bark, sanded, tuned, oil coated and clear coated and finally painted my design.
The way I painted my didgeridoo was inspired by the Aboriginal hand painting where they would find a hollowed twig, fill it with paint and blow the paint right over their hands onto the wall. This inspired me to cut out stencils and paint over them onto the didgeridoo.
Overall the group was a great success I think, I made friends, a didgeridoo and I learned a lot about my Aboriginal Heritage.
