I’d often heard that there was a sculpture park in the Swan Valley area, but had never gone out of my way to find it.
So it was quite a surprise when I made the effort and discovered that Ron Gomboc and his wife Terrie had been running the Gomboc Sculpture Park in Middle Swan for about 40 years.
It was even more surprising to discover that Ron had designed and produced the iconic statuette that is used to honour the winners of the annual AAFTA awards.
In producing this video I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Ron’s story and his desire to use sculpture to tell a story. Check out the video, and go and visit the Gomboc Sculpture Park.
What a delight it was to have a look at Amanda’s Garden and to try and capture some of the beauty on the garden on video. Even more significant than that was to meet Barry and Lorraine Young and hear the story behind the garden and the Amanda Young Foundation.
When Amanda Young died of meningococcal disease in 1997 there was hardly any awareness of the disease, even among the medical profession. Since then Barry and Lorraine, though the vehicle of the Amanda Young Foundation, have not only brought awareness, but significant steps have been made in overcoming the meningococcal disease.
One of the privileges of developing these weekly “Inspire Newscasts” is the ability to meet people like Lorraine and Barry, to hear their stories, and to share them with you. There are so many great people doing great things in our community and we need to hear these stories in order to lift our spirits and see the good in our world.
24 & 25 October. Amanda’s Garden Fete. There is something for everyone at this garden. Massed rose displays, water features, large variety of trees, shrubs and plants in rural setting. Devonshire teas, sausage sizzle, plant sales, art display, Paddy’s market and music. Located at the junction of Margaret and Matison Streets, Southern River. 10am to 4.30pm daily. All proceeds go towards Meningococcal Awareness. Entry $5. Enquiries 9398 7275. http://www.amandayoungfoundation.org.au.
I found it inspiring to hear Noongar man, Tom Little talking about his work in translating the book of Ruth in the Bible into the Noongar language of the south west of Western Australia.
Tom first got involved in Bible translation when his mum and his aunty began translating Luke’s Gospel a decade ago. As a matter of interest my dad was also involved in that ground-breaking work that saw a major piece of literature translated from English to Noongar.
Tom has done this work largely on his own, with the support of the Bible Society in Australia and it is clearly a work from the heart. Watch this short video from my “Inspire Newscast” series to hear Tom’s story.
An accomplished musician, Tom provides backing to this video from his own didjeridoo music and takes us into the studio where the words from an ancient piece of literature, translated into a language that nearly went missing, are brought alive through the medium of 21st century technology.
By the way, if you missed any of my earlier Inspire Newscasts, check them out on my YouTube channel, and FOLLOW this site.
There’s a growing demand for businesses to make themselves more accessible by people with a disability. We’re probably a long way further on than we were just a few years ago, but there’s still a long way to go.
You’d think that technology would solve many problems, but my latest Inspire Newscast raises the point that people with disabilities aren’t always aware of what’s available to them, and the people who build websites, don’t always think about the needs of people with a disability.
Dr Scott Hollier’s lived experience with a disability has led him to investigate how to make the digital world more accessible to people with disabilities, to the point he co-founded an organisation he is now leading that is setting the standards for the future.
It was great talking about this with Scott and learning more about what it means to make the digital world more accessible to people with a disability. I’d encourage you to watch his story and share it on your socials.
Photographs of the early days of Badjaling Mission has helped to remember and heal.
It was a very special privilege to be invited to attend a photographic exhibition at the wheatbelt town of Quairading to mark the completion of an important project.
The elders of Badjaling community, situated about 10 minutes from Quairading, have been working with Community Vision to produce a book and website that recalls some of the history of Badjaling.
The event had personal interest as both my mum and dad spent time at Badjaling as single people, and later as a young married couple so I was able to meet current elders who were schoolchildren at the time.
Mum went there in 1930 at the age of 18 to work as a housekeeper for the two missionaries, Miss Mary Belshaw and Miss May McRidge and stayed for two years.
Dad went there in 1938 and at the age of 21 became the schoolteacher for 38 children. He had been sent to Australia from Belfast as a 13-year-old and had no family in Australia. Badjaling became his home, and when he was called up to military service he would return to Badjaling whenever he was on leave.
I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed the visit to Badjaling Remembers at Quairading.
INSPIRE NEWSCAST 