An interactive Indigenous mural at St Mary’s School Corowa will be highlighted this week at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education in Adelaide.
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With attendees and presenters coming from all over the world to be part of the conference, St Mary’s Principal Glenn McMahon and Indigenous educator Uncle Darren Wighton will travel across and present a session on the school’s mural.
The Free Press visited St Mary’s School last week to view the incredible 9.5m wide mural, first designed and developed in 2019 by the school community and Uncle Darren.
The mural features the journey of education from kindergarten to graduation cleverly depicted with a canoe (the student) travelling from a Scar Tree, down the Murray River and into the universe.
Driver behind the mural, Uncle Darren ensured each student at the school was part of the process when it was being painted two years ago.
“Some students painted dots or lines and the year five and six students worked on the animals, and all the hands were done by teachers,” Mr McMahon said.
“The idea now is, each year the new kinder class will be able to add their thumbprint somewhere.”
But there’s more than meets the eye with this incredible display. The mural is fixed with unique QR codes which give users access to video content about native animals, stories, and Indigenous artefacts found in the area.It also contains augmented reality content which can only be seen by searching the mural with the camera on a mobile device
“The year six students two years ago created the content contained within each QR code. We worked with the Murray Darling Basin Authority and Zoos Victoria who kindly provided footage as well,” Mr McMahon said.
“Each class is a keeper of an Indigenous artefact for a year which they learn about. The mural is connected to each classroom’s artefact.”
Mr McMahon said the mural would continue to be an ongoing learning tool for students.
“We wanted to reflect the journey of education which leads to students going out into the universe, with every student being able to contribute in some way, shape or form. There’s a bit of history, local culture, arts, and education all embedded into the mural.”
With Indigenous education forming a fundamental part of the curriculum at St Mary’s Corowa, Mr McMahon and Uncle Darren Wighton are both looking forward to showcasing their incredible mural to a global audience at this week’s conference.
To learn more about the story behind the mural, visit St Mary’s Corowa on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNG3A8YzLg