Kaurna Day: Tirkanthi | Ngutu | Taikurrinthi 2025
- Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2025, 7:00 am - 2:30 pm
- Location: Kaurna Learning Circle & Barr Smith Lawns
- Cost: Free
- More information: Get tickets
Kaurna Day 2025: Tirkanthi - Ngutu - Taikurrinthi (Learning – Knowledge - Be united together)
The University of Adelaide and UniSA invite you to celebrate Kaurna Day 2025 - Tirkanthi - Ngutu - Taikurrinthi (Learning – Knowledge - Be united together), a day to immerse yourself and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and culture. A sunrise smoking ceremony begins a day of music, dance, and storytelling.
Kaurna Day is a free community event, and everyone is welcome! Join us on Monday, 3 March 2025, 7 am–2:30 pm, as we strengthen the connection between the University of Adelaide, UniSA, and Kaurna Culture and People.
Whether you come for an hour or the day, there’s plenty to explore and discover: community stalls, performances by First Nations artists from the Centre of Aboriginal Studies in Music, academic and research showcases, student presentations, collaborative information sessions, traditional games, and cultural workshops.
Kaurna Day will be a day to honour and celebrate First Nations people and culture.
Tirkanthi - Ngutu - Taikurrinthi (Learning – Knowledge - Be united together)
Schedule of activities
|
Time
|
Barr Smith Lawns |
Barr Smith Lawns |
|---|---|---|
|
7:00am – 8:00am |
Sunrise Smoking Ceremony North Terrace (with breakfast by Creative Native) Roseworthy Waite |
|
|
10:00am – 10:40am |
Welcome to Country Jamie Goldsmith & Taikurtinna Dance Group |
Marketplace/Stalls (10am-2pm) |
|
10:45am – 11:30am |
Cultural Presentations |
Activities (11am-2pm) |
|
12:00pm – 12:30pm |
Kaurna Song Book music set |
Live artwork all day by |
|
12:30pm – 12:45pm |
High achieving student presentations |
|
| 12:50pm - 1:35pm | Panel Conversations |
|
| 1:45pm - 2:15pm |
Kaurna Songbook music set |
|
|
2:15pm – 2:30pm |
Closing Formalities |
|
Pridham Hall, UniSA City West Campus
Open to UniSA and UofA staff and students
Register HERE
|
10:00am-11:00am |
Introduction to Kaurna Language |
|
11:30am-12:30pm |
Introduction to Kaurna Language |
|
1:00pm-2:00pm |
Introduction to Kaurna Language |
|
2:30pm-3:30pm |
Introduction to Kaurna Language |
Stallholders 10am – 2pm
Wirltu Yarlu
Ochre Dawn
Katrina Doolan
Nharla
Katjeri
The Circle - First Nations
Guurabunda Gardni
De Greer-Yindimincarlie
Karina Lester
Nunkuwarrin Yunti of SA Inc
Kids activities throughout the day:
LIVE MUSIC - Music from the new Kaurna Song Book titled Yurikurringa Ngadluku Paltirna: Listen to Our Songs
BODY ART - Experience Aboriginal body art at the Wirltu Yarlu stall. You can choose from a variety of deadly designs for your face or arm!
Traditional colouring activities w/ Wirringka UniSA- Dive into a world of vibrant colours and ancient stories with a kids' colouring activity featuring Aboriginal designs. It's not just about colouring; it's about exploring a rich cultural heritage and letting your imagination run wild.
MARKET STALLS - Visit market stalls featuring First Nations’ businesses showcasing their products and services (jewelry, art, sleeping bags, and more!)
LIVE PAINTING - Watch amazing Aboriginal artist Brooke Rigney create a brand new masterpiece live!
ANIMALS ANONYMOUS - Interact with some of South Australia’s native animals!
MOBILE LANGUAGE TEAM - Learn about different Aboriginal languages around South Australia with a range of games, and win prizes of the day!
Play audio: Tirkanthi | Ngutu | Taikurrinthi
Tirkanthi | Learn
Ngutu | Knowledge
Taikurrinthi | Be together
Q&A with Jaylon Newchurch on the new Kaurna Songbook: Yurikurringa Ngadluku Paltirna: Listen to Our Songs
Jaylon 'Pila' Newchurch works as a Kaurna Media Officer at Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi. He was instrumental in coordinating the new Kaurna Songbook, providing oversight, writing verses, and lending his vocal talent to select tracks.
Q: For those who don’t know, could you provide a brief introduction to the Kaurna Songbook?
Jaylon: The Kaurna Songbook is a contemporary reworking of the original Kaurna Paltinna, created in the 1990s. It contains 15 songs in the Kaurna language or featuring Kaurna words. The songbook's primary goal is to support the revitalisation and modern use of the Kaurna language, making it accessible to today’s learners.
The songbook serves as an educational resource, particularly for children and early language learners. Songs, often similar to nursery rhymes, provide an engaging and effective way to learn and remember language, which can be more approachable than traditional conversation for beginners.
These songs cover a range of themes, from playful children’s tunes to more culturally significant songs for adults, offering insights into Kaurna people, country, and culture. The songs were developed through a collaborative effort involving Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi (KWP), the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM), Kaurna Plains School, independent Aboriginal artists, and Kaurna community members.
The songbook plays a crucial role in the preservation and revitalisation of the Kaurna language, demonstrating how far language resources have come since the 1990s. It honours the work of those who helped restore the language and serves as a living testament to its resilience. By showcasing Kaurna in a modern context, the songbook helps ensure that the language remains vibrant for future generations while staying deeply connected to our roots and our old people who came before us.
What was your involvement in the creation of the Songbook?
My involvement in the creation of the Kaurna Songbook spanned several important roles. Primarily, I was responsible for ensuring the accurate pronunciation of the Kaurna language by the artists during recording sessions. This was crucial to maintaining the integrity of the language in the songs.
Another key aspect of my role involved updating and creating new verses for existing Kaurna songs. This was done to reflect contemporary language use while ensuring that cultural and linguistic integrity was preserved.
In addition, I worked on revising the spelling of the songs. The original songbook used an older spelling system. However, in 2010, Kaurna orthography underwent a significant transformation where community members and language experts came together to revise the spelling system. Therefore, my initial task was to go through the old songbook and update the spelling to match the new system, ensuring consistency in the revised version.
Finally, I had the opportunity to contribute as a vocalist on some of the tracks. Although I don’t consider myself a professional singer, I was encouraged to participate, and with the help of Grayson and others, I developed my singing ability for this project. Originally, I was not intending to sing, but rather to assist as the language supervisor, so this was a unique challenge for me.
At the end of each day, we accomplished what we set out to do, but it was the joy, camaraderie, and shared purpose that made the experience truly unforgettable.Jaylon Newchurch
Could you pick out a favourite memory or two for us while you were working on the Songbook?
One of my favourite memories from working on the Kaurna Songbook was the opportunity to collaborate with such a diverse group of Aboriginal artists. Each artist brought their own unique perspective, which allowed me to learn from their varied experiences. This deepened my understanding of different languages, traditions, and storytelling methods, enriching the overall project.
The diversity of musical styles, vocal techniques, and creative approaches was another highlight. Working with these artists gave me access to a wealth of cultural knowledge and creative talent. It was a chance to connect personally with each individual while contributing to a shared vision of cultural preservation and revitalisation.
Some days, we’d spend hours in the studio, back-to-back sessions that could stretch on all day. Despite the long hours, time would fly by. It never felt like a typical workday; the energy was so high, and we really embraced the motto "work hard, play hard."
While the sessions could get serious, the atmosphere was mostly light-hearted and creative. There was a great sense of spontaneity in the room, with everyone contributing their unique talents. At the end of each day, we accomplished what we set out to do, but it was the joy, camaraderie, and shared purpose that made the experience truly unforgettable.
What song do you expect to play well in front of a crowd?
The song I expect to play well in front of a crowd is Wakwakurnarlu wanpa-wanpanthi (The Children’s Counting Song). This song is light, fun, and extremely catchy, with a call-and-response structure that encourages audience participation. The interactive nature of the song makes it perfect for engaging a crowd, especially children. I remember when we were first developing it, we even described it as having a "Blak Wiggle" vibe—something that combines playful energy with an easy-to-follow rhythm. This makes it a song that people can’t help but join in on, creating a sense of connection and fun right from the start.
Can people get a preview of the Songbook? How can they access it once it’s released?
Members of the public can expect to hear teasers of the newly revised songs in the coming weeks when KWP and CASM launch the social media campaign, promoting the new book. After the forthcoming launch (where a special limited-edition copy of the book will be printed and made available to schools and community centres in the Kaurna Plains region for free) the song book will be published online via the Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi website, available for free download, along with the songs in audio format.
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PRV12105 CRICOS 00123M
PRV12107 CRICOS 00121B
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