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@ElsevierAUS
need to do, when they’re going to need
a break, what can they do to maintain
their sanity in a remote area. There are
a lot of pluses, but it’s a hard job, so
they really need to do that self-care.
Also, know when they’ve had enough.
Either when they need a break or they need
to leave. I think that’s really important.
What has been one of your
best experiences working in
these remote communities?
When I was working on York Island,
in the Torres Strait, where the Youth
Orchestra came up, and it was a special
program with the Government. They flew
in on one of those army planes where
they can land on short strips. They had
a feast for the kids with turtle and some
of the kids weren’t really too excited
about it and the chairman kept coming
up saying ‘go and tell them what it is’.
Then they set up the orchestra on the
basketball courts on the sand and they
played. The whole community came out
and sat round on the sand to listen to the
kids. They enjoyed it so much and they
made them play La Bamba about four
timeswhichthekids thoughtwashilarious.
Then the teacher was saying ‘we’ve got
to get the kids to bed, they’ve got to
get up early in the morning’. And, the
community wasn’t having any of that.
They got the kids up and they decided they
should teach them some of their culture,
some of their songs and dances. So, they
got all the kids sitting in a big circle with
the Islander kids in between them and
they taught them how to do a sit down
dance which I still can do a little bit of. And,
the kids, both sides, enjoyed it so much
and it just broke down all the barriers.
I remember when I was in Cairns, I
listened to the radio and it was the woman
who ran the Youth Orchestra and she was
talking about the trip they did and she