Lake Bolac Eel Festival

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo -

Weaving component stage 1

Earlier in the year our Indigenous students were given the opportunity to participate in the planning and creation of the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo sculpture for the Lake Bolac Eel Festival.

This project was of particular interest to our Indigenous students as the Eel Festival continues the ancient cultural tradition of First People gathering by Lake Bolac as they have done for thousands of years. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo will arrive at Lake Bolac from the north, representing the people from the north, in particular from Mt Langi Ghiran, the home of the Black Tailed Cockatoo. Students from Ararat College are "people from the north" so it was great to engage them in creating the Cockatoo.

Unfortunately due to the pandemic the Lake Bolac Eel festival has been postponed until 2022 where the Cockatoo will finally arrive and be unveiled. However, this postponement has given the Eel festival organisers the opportunity to complete the Cockatoo sculpture with a weaving component created and implemented by Aunty Bronwyn and Katja Nedoluha. This weaving will add coloured detail and texture to the Cockatoo and the important ‘yellow feathers’.

Once again our students have been given the opportunity to be involved and have been working in the Ararat LLEN building at the back of the school grounds where the sculpture is stored during the weaving component stage one. A second stage of weaving will be completed later in the term to finally finish the beautiful sculpture.