Camp Cope And Alice Skye To Headline Djab Wurrung Fundraiser To Save Sacred Birthing Trees
Be there.
Artists such as Camp Cope and Alice Skye have been locked in to perform at Melbourne’s Gasometer Hotel this Wednesday to raise funds for the fight to save the sacred birthing trees on Djab Wurrung lands.
Djab Wurrung people both young and old, along with supporters of the Djab Wurrung people and the cause, are currently putting their bodies on the frontline and doing whatever it takes to raise awareness to put end to a project that will see the destruction of beautiful, sacred birthing trees — located not far from Arrarat, in Victoria.
These trees hold incredible cultural and birthing significance for the Djab Wurrung People and also the broader Aboriginal community; they include an 800-year-old tree that has seen over 50 generations born inside of a hollow in her trunk, and a 350-year-old directions tree that has been shaped and resembles a woman.
Wergaia and Wemba Wemba Singer/Songwriter Alice Skye will be performing at the fundraiser.
VicRoads and the Major Roads project Victoria plan to expand the area into a massive freeway that will save just three minutes for drivers. VicRoads and Major Roads Project Victoria have said they will not be undertaking any works until April 22.bThis is part of a larger conversation that has been getting louder in this continent around how Aboriginal people are often an afterthought. Our sovereignty, voices and cultural locations are time and time again not a priority for the government.
“We won’t be moved, Daniel Andrews,” says Sandra Onus, a Djab Wurrung traditional owner. “The existing freeway easement will destroy trees that have been culturally modified and used for traditional cultural practice for up to eight hundred years. They are of enormous cultural value to [Djab Wurrung] people. As we have been saying now for over two years, an alternative must be found that will not destroy outstanding natural and cultural values.”
The fight is ugly and has been long for the Djab Wurrung people and the issue needs support now. Find out how to get behind the cause on Djab Wurrung Embassy’s website, and make sure to get down to Djab Wurrung Embassy fundraiser on Wednesday, April 3, from 7pm at The Gasometer Hotel. Grab tickets here.
Apart from Camp Cope and Alice Skye, you’ll be able to see performances from Allara, Philly, Pataphysics (beat set), and DJ KYAANZ. Check out all the details below.
