TreeLine @ The Bunya Dreaming

Event date: 30 Jan 2010 - 4 Jul 2010

 

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TreeLine was launched at the Bunya Dreaming, a revival of a cultural tradition celebrating the Bunya pine that took place in the Sunshine Coast hinterland for thousands of years.  Images from the Bunya Dreaming will be projected in Sunshine Coast Regional galleries from May 29th to July 4th 2010.

From 'Bunya Dreaming' on Facebook by Beverly Hand... 'A gathering held at Lake Baroon to celebrate the majestic Bunya Tree, the Bunya Tree has great significance to Indigenous people. An icon of the sunshine coast that is used by many companies and organisations is the bunya tree. In the early stages of colonisation in the region, many of the new comers felled many Bunya Trees for the development of the new colony. When indigenous people saw these huge trees being felled, they began to cry. And not for a moment in their highly complex lifestyles but for months. Not only did they cry for days and days but their cries could be heard for miles and miles.
From the month of Dec through to March Indigenous people would come from far afield to gather at Baroon Pocket. These gatherings were a celebration of their culture with politics, sports, justice, dissemination of information, marital arrangements and other social activities taken place. This tree was so special to Indigenous people that there were laws that precluded people harming it in any way. Its importance to the Aborigines was seen by Governor Gipps who made a declaration that no timber licenses be given or land taken up in Bunya Country in 1842. He was specifically talking about the land that is known as the Sunshine Coast today, this was repealed as the first act of Qld parliament.
The Bunya Tree can provide more for the community than just be used as an icon. There are environmental, health & social benefits.
Beverly uses the day to generate understanding of Indigenous culture, providing a forum for networking and information sharing, including the strengthening of community partnerships.
The last recorded 'traditional' Bunya Festival was held at Baroon Pocket in 1887. Then, in 2007 Beverly Hand made a revitalisation of a traditional event into contemporary Australia that we now call 'Bunya Dreaming''.

Treeline reflection of the Bunya Dreaming... 'The Bunya Dreaming was held on the 30th January at the Maleny side of the Baroon Pocket Dam, this cultural revival was nothing short of fantastic. This was the fourth of the Bunya Dreaming Festivals and the day was full of challenges, artistry, dancing, networking, fine food and storytelling.

Walbira and Scott Murray installed Sorry Tree as part of Treeline celebrations at the Bunya Dreaming. This ephemeral piece of artwork is a response to the Australian Government saying “Sorry” to the Stolen Generations. Walbira and Scott picked 7 Eucalyptus trees which were close to Baroon Pocket Dam and painted them like a scarred trees. They then wrote out the PM’s historic speech, which was then cut up into 7 pieces, symbolising how many times the Government said “Sorry”. This was then stuck with contact onto the trees. People walked around the installation, following the newly formed reconciliation pathway of trees, reading the PM’s words. At the end of the pathway, a lone dead tree stood sprayed with white ochre, and decorated beneath. Some people said it looked very “ghostly” from the distance. After reading the apology, people were to write their own feelings, their own response to the apology, on the handmade decorated leaves that were available. These leaves were then hung onto the ochre tree. In the scrub in the close distance beautifully decorated poles were installed, these symbolised the ancestors watching'.

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