The Journey of The Whales

Baraya Barray - Whale Song began quietly.

In June 2023, a Baraya Barray - Whale Song pilot workshop was held on Dharawal Country with young First Nations students from Years 3–10 across the Wollongong and Shoalhaven communities. Families gathered with Elders, language custodians, poets, musicians and cultural knowledge holders to share stories, language, poetry and cultural knowledges connected to Humpback Whale migrations, Saltwater Country and community.

Since then, Baraya Barray - Whale Song has travelled steadily along the east coast. In 2024, workshops were held across Yuin, Wodi Wodi and again on Dharawal Country. In 2025, the journey continued through Biripi, Gumbayngirr and Bundjalung Country, with First Nations students taking part in intergenerational workshops centred around Whale story, language, poetry, dance and environmental knowledge.

One of the things we came to understand through travelling in this way was how stories move. They circulate, adapt, overlap and become entangled with other stories. A Whale story might lead into a fishing story, a bird story, a story about how an island or river came to be, a memory about family, or something happening locally in the community.

This excerpt from a group poem written on Gumbaynggirr Country captures this movement and connectedness:

Following these saltwater-ways, Baraya Barray - Whale Song has brought together many forms of First Nations cultural expression across generations. Commissioned poets, musicians, artists, Elders and cultural knowledge holders have shared lullabies, violin soundscapes, poetry, visual art and Whale stories grounded in their own communities and practices. Students then respond in their own ways. They do it through drawings, weaving, jewellery making, dancing, fire making and poems written beside beaches, bushlands and school grounds.

As the project continues travelling, each workshop becomes part of a larger conversation carried along the coastline through language, story, kinship, poetry and the movements of Whales themselves. Soon, Baraya Barray - Whale Song will continue this journey through Gadigal and Djiringanj communities, carrying these shared stories and growing new eco-cultural connections along the way.

Keep your eyes on the horizon for more Baraya Barray - Whale Song travels.