Author: jan

Immigration: For A Better Life In Australia

A Musical Storytelling Show                                                                                                                                                                   Year 5, Immigration

This was a great incursion to support out Immigration unit. Jan engaged our students with his great storytelling abilities as well as his entertaining singing and variety of instrumental use. We look forward to having him return to our school next year. (Lisa Baker, Boronia Heights PS)

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       Brief

 Using stories, including Jan’s own family story of migration, songs, including Indigenous (with permission) and folk songs, and graphics and maps dating back to the the 13th century, Jan tells the fascinating story of people coming to the Australian continent. Including:

*  The ten thousand year journey out of Africa of the First Australians.

*  How Indigenous people migrated over the continent, with many languages.

*  The First Fleet and how that changed this continent forever.

*  Caroline Chisholm who brought many women to a male dominated colony.

*  The 1850s gold rush, the beginning of contemporary multi-cultural Australia

*  The Chinese gold diggers walking 800 k from Robe to the goldfields.

 * Refugees today, and how everyone came here for better life (though maybe not  the convicts).

Practical Details

Duration            60 mins plus questions                                                                                                                                                                                         Set up                  1 hour                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Cost                     $5 per student. $500 minimum per show, plus  travel to some locations.

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First Nations. First Fleet. First Contact.

Music, Visual Art, Storytelling Show                                                                                                                                                      Year 4 (First Contact), 5, 6                                                                                                                                                                          Secondary Australian Studies/History 

“The students still talk about the poems, stories that you shared with us, on how the British explorers were received by the Indigenous Australians. It was fantastic to hear the two perspectives through your musical talent. The use of paintings/ visuals aided the students learning by connecting the stories that you told.” (Madeleine Paslis, Toorak PS)

 

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 Brief

A music and story show, with archival images, about first contact and developing relationships between Indigenous Australians and the British colonists, from Captain Cook onwards, including:

*     Indigenous songs before colonisation (with permission).

*     Captain Cook shooting at Aboriginal people at Botany Bay/Kamay, and his makaratta – peace after a dispute – with the     Yimithir people at Reconciliation Rocks, Cooktown (we have the word kangaroo’ from the Yimithir word Gangarruu).

*  Convict songs – a pop song from the day (Botany Bay) and a genuine convict song (Jim Jones), about how they came here because of thieving (with background re gaols in England etc)

* Events of early Sydney: Indigenous and soldiers dancing together; small pox epidemic, war with Pemulwuy, Gov. Phillip speared.

*  How Victoria was different: first failed settlement, and how escaped convict William Buckley was welcomed by Wathaurong people as a spirit (Ngamadjidj) come back from the dead; how land speculator John Batman tried to buy land surrounding Port Phillip Bay.

* Jan’s personal story of his ‘first contact’ with Aboriginal people, as a boy in Gippsland.

* The 1984/6 story of the last Indigenous people to make contact with white Australians (Pintupi and Martu people in the NT and WA).

* A song to finish, Thank You for the Welcome, which sums it up in the context of continuing peace between black and white Australians.

Practical Details

Cost                 $5 per student. $500 minimum per show.  Plus travel in some locations.
Duration          60 minuets plus questions
Set up time      60 minutes

Enquiries/ Bookings

 

 

 

 

Wominjika: The Reconciliation Workshop

Singing and Story Workshop

“The workshop sessions were invaluable, providing a context for students to understand the thousands of years of complex story within the song – inspiring dignity, awareness, understanding and appreciation as well as lots of laughs!” (Thias Sanson, Castlemine PS)

Aboriginal,Torres Strait Islands and Australian flag

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Brief   

Wominjika’ means Welcome in languages of the Kulin nations of Indigenous people from around Port Phillip Bay, Victoria.

In this 75 minute workshop Jan teaches students to sing a song of respect for Indigenous people and in appreciation of Indigenous Welcome to Country.

The song contains many stories of black-white history, told by Jan with archival images and maps.

There is significant discussion and the song is recorded so students and choirs can sing it again at concerts, assemblies and Indigenous Welcome to Country. (More details below.)

Primary Curriculum

Year 4 (First Contact), also for 5-6 studying Indigenous-Settler history.  Also  can be for be for the entire school, with a shortened workshop for P-3.

            Secondary Curriculum

Australian Studies/History; Colonisation, impact on Indigenous communities, Reconciliation, Makarrata, the Voice, contemporary relationship between Indigenous-non Indigenous Australians.

Practical Details

Duration:     75 mins plus questions
Set up:           1 hour
Cost:               $5 per student. $500 minimum, plus travel costs to some locations.

Enquiries & bookings

Detailed Description

Wominjeka means ‘welcome’ in the Wurundjeri and Dja Dja Wurrung languages of Melbourne and central Victoria, and in this workshop I teach a song of respect for Indigenous people (listen & read lyrics below).

Within this musical experience students come to understand many stories of black-white contact, welcoming, conflict and reconciliation, including:

  • How Indigenous ceremonies compare with our customs of welcome and laws of visas and passports
  • Aborigines and First Fleet soldiers dancing together
  • The Woiwurrung welcome for John Batman when he came in 1835 to ‘purchase’ the land that is now Melbourne
  • The story of William Buckley, the convict who lived with Wathauring people for 32 years
  • The Stolen Generations story
  • Jan’s personal experiences with Aboriginal people, their hospitality and welcoming

As well as historical sources I also draws on the many book, radio, film, CD and music projects I’ve worked on with Indigenous Australians.

In this workshop students learn about respect for other cultures and to take responsibility, without guilt, for our history. I do not speak on behalf of Indigenous people

How It works

*   I teach students to sing the song &tell them the stories embedded in the lyrics
*   Students offer their ways of welcome and compare with Indigenous customs
*   Discussion of issues raised by the song and stories
*   Song is recorded to CD, which the school keeps

Schools may use the song later in concerts and other occasions, and as a dignified response to Indigenous Welcome to Country.

LINKS

See choir singing song in 0pening Ceremony of the 2009 Castlemaine State Festival

Thank You for the Welcome
Words & music: Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky © 2009

School rendition of the song

Verse 1

Thank you for the welcome to your country
Thank you for the welcome to your land
Can we two walk as one underneath this sun
Thank you for the welcome to your land.

Verse 2

Thank you for the welcome to your country
Thank you for the welcome to your land
Can we two walk in peace by your shining creeks
Thank you for the welcome to your land.

Middle 8

Some of us came in chains, some with a Bible or a gun
Some to make our fortune some came for the sun
Some of us sought refuge to start our lives anew
In this in this old land
In this in this old land.

Chorus

Wominjeka, wominjeka, wominjeka (Wurundjeri & Jarra version)
Bin barre barne, Bin barre barne, Bin barre barne (Wathaurong version)

Middle 8

Some of you shed your blood when the whale boats hit the sand
Some of you danced with us, dancing hand in hand
Some of you were stolen from your home when you were young
In this in this old land
In this in this old land.

Verse 3

Thank you for the welcome to your country
Thank you for the welcome to your land
Can we two walk with love under the stars above
Thank you for the welcome …

Chorus

Wominjeka, wominjeka, wominjeka
Bin barre barne, Bin barre barne, Bin barre barne
Thank you for the welcome to your land.

Notes
Wominjeka means welcome in the language of the Wurundjeri people of the Melbourne area and the Dja Dja Wurrung people of central Victoria. Bin barre barne means welcome in the Wathaurong language of the Geelong area.

When sung in the country of other Aboriginal languages, the local word for welcome can be included. Please consult with local Indigenous people.

The dancing referred to in stanza three took place three days after the First Fleet arrived at Port Jackson in 1788. The white colonists were mapping the harbour, and a group of black Australians cheerfully called them ashore. A painting by Luit. Bradley records what then happened: under the trees by the beach, they all – black and white – held hands and danced.

Enquiries & bookings

Recommendations

Dear Jan,

The whole school community was moved by the students singing your ‘Thank You For The Welcome’ song in Reconciliation Week.

Parents commented on how the 3-6 students were so focused on the singing, really enjoying it, with such integrity, as they sang it for the Jarra elders.

The two workshop sessions were invaluable, providing a context for students to understand the thousands of years of complex story within the song. On behalf of the teachers who had the privilege to sit in on your workshops, we thank you for engaging the students in such rich sessions of storytelling – inspiring dignity, awareness, understanding and appreciation as well as lots of laughs!

 Thais Sansom

Performing Arts Teacher, Castlemaine South Primary School

Dear Jan,

I want to express my thanks for your role in the 2009 Castlemaine State Festival. Your idea to dedicate a work of thanks in response to the Jarra Welcome to Country was thoughtful and progressive. The occasion was moving and profound. As the Minister for Arts Lynne Kosky announced, it was the best Welcome to Country she has ever experienced.

Again my thanks to all involved.

Martin Paten
Festival Director, Castlemaine State Festival

Dear Jan,

I am happy to provide a recommendation to Jan Wositzky’s ‘Wominjika: The Thank You Workshop’.

I’m a Wamba Wamba man (Swan Hill, Victoria) living near Castlemaine in central Victoria, on Jarra Country. Acknowledging Country is part of my protocol as an Aboriginal person, when I am performing on another person’s land.

The Castlemaine State Festival opening incorporated a Welcome to Country by Jarra traditional owner, Uncle Brien Nelson; myself giving an Indigenous acknowledgment of Uncle’s Welcome; and Jan’s song ‘Thank You for the Welcome’ – a non Indigenous thank you and acknowledgment of Country.

As I said during that ceremony, “It takes someone special to write a song like this one”, and Jan has done something special here.  I believe Jan’s proposal to run workshops in schools which aim to teach this song and it’s message of thank you and acknowledgment of Country, should be taken up by all schools.  It provides an important way, through music, that we can better understand our place in this land.

Ron Murray – Wamba Wamba
Enquiries & bookings

Wominjeka: The Thank You Workshop – Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky at Uluru

Home (Is with my family)

Singing and Story Workshop                                                                                                                                                                 Prep -1-2, Family & Local History

“Thanks so much for coming to our school last week,
the kids absolutely loved it and so did our grade one teachers.”
Rebecca Loomes, Trinity, Narre Warren

Jan as a toddler, with his parents.

Enquiries/ Bookings

Brief

  • With my banjo I teach a song about how we all have a story, and the main song about family (see below)

  • Using shirts printed with family pictures I ‘hang out the washing’ and tell my family stories from the song.

  • We talk about how to enquire of parents and grandparents about your family story.

  • With two students – a boy and a girl – we write and all sing a couple of simple verses about their particular family.

  • With the class we then write and sing a verse about their school and local district.

  • We record both songs for continued work in class with lyric templates and other activities/research to go on with.

 Practical Details

Duration:            60 mins plus questions                                                                                                                                                                                         Set up:                  1 hour                                                                                                                                                                                                             Cost:                      $5/student. $500 minimum. Plus travel to some locations.

Enquiries/ Bookings

Listen to students singing  HOME (is with my family)

 

THE SONG – Jan’s original version
Words & Music: Jan Wositzky

Home, is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
But home, is with my family.

I’m proud of my home, for me it is the best
And you can make it your home, if you need to rest
Full of friends and family, a peaceful place at night
I’m proud of my home, for me it is alright.

My name is Jan and I live in Castlemaine
It’s a town up the country, you can get there on the train
In the bush around about they once found lots of gold
Maybe I will find some too before I grow too old

When I was a little boy I sailed across the sea
On a boat to Australia with my family
And I met King Neptune he was sitting on the deck
|He came out of the water with seaweed ‘round his neck.

My Dad was Czechoslovak, my mother was a Scot
My uncle was Hungarian, we are a mixed up lot
My kids are partly Jewish
And my full name is Frantisek Jan McMurray Wositzky.

Lyrics written by kids from Glenorch PS
Words & Music: Jan Wositzky
Verses by Glenorchy PS

Home is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
Home is with my family

Now I live in Glenorchy, a peaceful place to be
By the big, long river that we all love to see
The people here are friendly, we all have a house
It doesn’t have much traffic, it’s quiet as a mouse

Running down the east side we see the railway line
The farmers bring their grain there when the season’s fine
The town is bathed in sunlight, at school the kids plant trees
And they do a good job to bring us the birds and bees

Now I live in Glenorchy, the mail comes to the hall
We sing and dance a lot there, the closest town is Stawell
So if you need a place to live Glenorchy is the spot
It’s everything in our lives, the weather can be hot

And I’m proud of my home, for me it is the best
And you can make it your home, if you need to rest
Full of friends and family, a peaceful place at night
I’m proud of my home, for me it is alright

Home is with my family
You can live on top of a mountain
You can live along the sea
Home is with my family

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The Australian History Show

Music and Story Show                                                                                                                                                                      Primary & Secondary

“The stories got the children hooked straight away…Jan was able to quickly build a rapport with the children and the frank and honest answers to questions was great…excellent use of common articles for music…every child wanted to be in the show. Overall a very entertaining and educational show. Jan demonstrates a diversity and richness of the Australian character.” (Sth. George Town PS)

 

Cover illustration of Jan’s book ‘A Fruitcake of Australian Stories’

Enquiries/ Bookings

Brief

Jan has an extensive repertoire of Australian stories and songs, written and gathered over his 52 years performing. Consequently he can take an Australian history show in many directions.  So let Jan know which areas/s you wish to focus upon, and he will build the show to your curriculum focus (if he can’t he’ll tell you, of course).

Entertaining, informative and fun, this song & story show involves students playing instruments and singing. As with all Jan’s work the Australian stories are ‘honest history’, exciting true tales, with meaningful question time at the end.

Curriculum

According to the requests from teachers, The Australian History Show can address many curriculum areas, both Primary and Secondary.

More Information re the show

  • Jan plays five-string banjo, harmonica, bodhran (Irish drum), ukulele, spoons, rhythm bones and tea-chest bass.

  • Students are always involved – in discussion, singing and playing simple instruments.

  • Previous shows requested by teachers have been

    • Australians of significance

    • Landmarks of Melbourne

    • Colonial rural life

    • Water and the Yarra River (with Maya Ward)

    • Migration (now a show on it’s own)

    • First Fleet, first contact (also a show on it’s own)

Practical Details

Duration:     60 mins plus questions
Set up:          1 hour
Cost:             $5 per student. $500 minimum, plus travel costs to some locations.

Enquiries/ Bookings

 

 

Jan Wositzky’s Storytelling Workshop

Workshop for Primary & Secondary

“The guest storyteller at our Junior School Arts Festival, Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky, was so entertaining and a great presenter! Jan was very flexible and he was able to adapt his workshop formats to suit our requirements and mould his sessions to best cater to multi aged groups of 5 – 12 year old girls, with approximately 28 girls in each group. Not an easy task, and with only one day’s notice! Over the course of the 3 days, Jan presented 8 storytelling workshop sessions, and included music and humour in every session. Thank you Jan for taking part in our Arts Festival and for doing such a fabulous job!”  (Marissa Caluzzi, Ivanhoe Girls Grammar)

Enquiries/ Bookings

Brief

For thousands of years stories have been our most powerful way of communicating. Stories are embedded in our religions, books, films and teaching, and in this workshop I incorporate all my storytelling influences. I go back to the original storyteller, the person around the campfire, with only his or her voice, body, a musical instrument and an occasional prop to paint a picture,  and I tell various stories: Australian Dreaming stories (with permission); Greek myths; outrageous yarns; personal tales; song stories and parables from around the world.

I talk about how these stories work, their structure and their purpose in showing us how to express ourselves, resolve conflict and live our lives.

The workshop can stop at this point, or go on as I guide students in the telling their own stories, either orally or in writing; assisting them in structuring, sticking to the theme and fleshing out the detail.

My Storytelling Background

My love of storytelling began with my refugee family telling tales of their journeys to Australia.

Then as a teenager I boasted a prodigious repertoire of jokes – our most basic form of three-part story structure.

And growing up in the Dandenong Ranges out of Melbourne I spent a lot of time swinging a pick with the local ‘old blokes’ who during ‘smoko’ would spin yarns of tramping on the dole during the Great Depression or being a guard at the Cowra Breakout during WW2.

Later I got interested in mythology and theatre, and oral history with such people at Phar Lap’s strapper, Tommy Woodcock, and later again I began script-writing documentaries for radio and television, bringing a basis of story to all these projects.

Curriculum

Whilst there’s no subject called ‘storytelling’ in curriculum, storytelling is the oldest, most versatile and entertaining way to educate. The telling of stories can be applied to any curriculum area at any level. Teachers can take elements of this workshop to use in their teaching. Students can take tips from my storytelling to use in their class work or assignments.

Practical Details

Duration       60 – 90 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                            Set up            60 minutes                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Numbers        25 – 100                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Cost                $5-6 per student. $500 – 600 minimum per workshop – depending on whether a 60 0r 90 minute       session. Plus travel in some locations

Enquiries/ Bookings

 

 

Continue reading “Jan Wositzky’s Storytelling Workshop” →

Gold in the Heart

Music and Story Theatre                                                                                                                                                                         Year 4- 6 (NAT 5: Colonies) & suitable for secondary                                                                                                                        With student participation

“A wonderful combination of characters, music, information and amusing drama, with students joining the performance, taking on various character roles and actively discovering the amazing journeys of many immigrants who arrived on our shores during the gold rush.  It was something students and staff all enjoyed.                                       (Cathy Samson, Castlemaine North PS)

 

Gold diggers meeting under the Eureka flag, Ballarat, 1854

Enquiries/ Bookings

Brief

Through the adventures of a gold digger, Denis O’Reilly, students are taken into the Victorian gold rushes of 1851-4.

  • Utilizing digger’s songs, music and poetry, documents, maps, flags, newspaper reports and gold-seekers tales

  • Gold in the Heart tells of the European, Chinese and Indigenous (Dja Dja Wurrung) experience

  • Journeys into the politics of the government’s Gold Licence

  • Reveals the hitherto unknown history of the 1851 Monster Meeting which set alight the diggers demand for a vote that led to Eureka and democracy in Australia.

  • See below for more Content Details.

The Practical Stuff

Duration                       60 minutes + questions                                                                                                                                                                                         Set up                            60 minutes
Student involvement   Six students play roles in the show, with scripts sent ahead.                                                                                                                Cost                               $5 per student. $500 minimum per show, plus travel in some locations

Enquiries/ Bookings

Further Content Details

Through the adventures of a gold digger, Denis O’Reilly, paints a vivid picture of the Victorian gold rushes of 1851-4. Utilizing digger’s songs, music and poetry, documents, maps, flags, newspaper reports and gold-seekers tales, Gold in the Heart tells of the European, Chinese and Indigenous experience, and journeys into the politics of the government’s Gold Licence, the hitherto unknown history of the 1851 Monster Meeting which set alight diggers demand for a vote that led to Eureka and democracy in Australia.  Areas covered include:

  • Conditions on the goldfields

  • How the diggers protests against the government license and police brutality began in 1851, three years before Eureka, with the Monster Meeting of 15,000 diggers at Forest Creek, now Chewton near Castlemaine

  • Then continued through Bendigo’s 1853 Red Ribbon Agitation

  • And erupted into bloodshed at Eureka/Ballarat in 1854

The flag from the 1851 Monster Meeting at Castlemaine and the 1853 Red Ribbon Agitation at Bendigo.It’s a story of how ordinary people dreamt of a better life and of democracy, and how some made it rich whilst others died, the diggers all the while singing of a ‘good time a coming’.

Because Jan lives in Castlemaine, where the gold rush history is etched into the landscape, he brings his personal experiences into this show.

 

Teacher’s Recommendations


“Our Grade 5 students thoroughly enjoyed Gold In The Heart as it brought the Gold Rush to life in a way that I never could! Plenty of catchy songs, engaging content and opportunities for children to participate in a witty, educational script. Overall it was an afternoon well spent and I’d highly recommend it while studying this era in Australian history.”
                                                                                                                                                             Cian Hassett, Courteney Gardens PS

“A wonderful combination of characters, music, information and amusing drama, with students joining the performance, taking on various character roles and actively discovering the amazing journeys of many immigrants who arrived on our shores during the gold rush.  It was something students and staff all enjoyed.”
                                                                                                                                                           Cathy Samson, Castlemaine North PS

Thanks again for performing at our school last week.  It was an enjoyable and most informative show and  we all gained lots of new insight into life on the gold fields.  I hope that you can come again in a couple of years time.  (Jenny Penaluna, Daylesford Secondary College)

Thank you for your performance at Cheltenham Primary School.  It was much enjoyed by staff and students alike. You encapsulated the aspects of the gold rush (geographical, social historical, economic and political) all in one, which was great. Sometimes the students need to see a play/ performance rather than something ICT focussed to get a real immersion in a topic. (David Senior, Senior School Coordinator, Cheltenham PS)

Thank you so much for performing at our school yesterday.  I was at school for tutoring this afternoon and I was surrounded by kids who couldn’t wait to tell me everything about your show.  They loved it!  They told me about the songs and instruments and one of the teachers mentioned how inspired they were to write about the gold fields in their afternoon class.  All in all they had a fantastic time! (Elaine Keely, St Mary’s, Cohuna)

The content of your show really complemented our gold rush unit. We especially enjoyed the musical element and it was great to get the kids involved…you covered so much good content that I really think there was something for everyone, and there was plenty of material for the teachers to draw on back in the classroom. The way you have incorporated so many different perspectives into your show is really excellent. Thanks so much for coming to see us. (Brigid Little, St John’s PS, Frankston)

Canakkale. Gallopoli. Lest We Forget

Music, Story, Poetry Theatre                                                                                                                                                                    Year 5/6 & secondary (NAT year 9: Modern World)                                                                                                                                With student participation)

“It was a brilliant production and we will certainly book Jan again. I was very impressed with how Jan involved our students in the presentation. Jan had total control, they were silent, listened attentively, and the questions were deep and meaningful.” (Billanook College, Victoria)

‘Mehmet’ the Turkish soldier and Australian digger

Enquiries/ Bookings

Brief

A music and story theatre piece, with student involvement playing parts, re-telling Gallipoli with both Turkish & Australian song, poetry and story.
Contextualised within Australian involvement in WW1. (Çanakkale (pronounced ‘Cha-nak-ali’) is what Turks call Gallipoli.)

See below for full description.

The Practical Details

Duration                         60 minutes + questions                                                                                                                                                        Set up                              60 minutes
Student involvement      Five students play roles with scripts sent ahead                                                                                           Cost                                  $5 per student. $500 minimum per show, plus travel in some locations

             Enquiries/ Bookings

Content Details

.The show is structured around four events: the April landing, the May truce, the August offensive and the December evacuation.

The Australian material comes from poets CJ Dennis and Mary Gilmore, the ABC archives of Bill Harney, songwriters Ted Egan and Eric Bogle, and traditional songs from the time.

The Turkish material is drawn from poets Nazim Hikmet and Bulent Ecevit, traditional song, and from the words of Turkish hero, Mustafa Kemal Attaturk.

This historical content is laced together by Jan’s experiences performing at Gallipoli.

By bringing both sides together in Çanakkale. Gallipoli. Lest We Forget our Anzac legend is enlarged by the Turkish legend of how enemy soldiers found respect for each other, and how that respect led to the friendship that Australia and Turkey share today. This performance also questions the veracity of this contemporary story.

Students are also asked to think about questions such as was Gallipoli the ‘birth of a nation?’, and to compare Australia’s Gallipoli identity to Turkey’s, via Mustafa Kemal Attaturk, the commander against the Anzacs who became their President.

 

Teacher & Other Recommendations

“The performance was excellent; varied and relaxed, but quite structured. Having students involved showed that this was cool. The stories challenged the students to think, and it was great for SOSE, Australian History and English.” (Horsham Memorial SC)

“Fitted in with the study of war in Year 9 History, and as an alternative to class work gave expression to other ‘intelligences’. The music gained a very positive response from students, It was commendable to weave in the Turkish perspective. The participation kept the group engaged with a feeling of sharing the event.” (Xavier College)

“It was a clear, simple outline of what happened at Gallipoli…the students were really engaged and attentive, and the discussion afterwards was really positive…very positive feedback from staff who attended.” (Sue Wooley, Fintona Girls School, Balwyn)

“Excellent. Gave students a hands-on and visual experience of Gallipoli and events surrounding this time. Students responded really well to Jan as they were genuinely interested in the presentation.” (Jayne Sheumack, St Francis Xavier College)

“Excellent. This provided students with an overview of Gallipoli, and a solid basis from which to begin their study. The student behaviour was a solid indication of their interest and respect for Jan.” (Sarah Morgan, Ringwood Secondary College)

“It fitted our curriculum perfectly. The combination of narrative, song, poetry, student involvement, and props actively engaged the students and allowed them to consider the Gallipoli ‘experience’ from different points of view. They were thoroughly engaged and interested!” (Catherine Judd, Siera College)

“Some of the students were unsure what to expect but once Jan started they were very interested. The songs were really clever, and the students enjoyed the participation aspect. Thanks for coming out, I really enjoyed the performance.” (Angela Marsden, Lilydale High School)

“An excellent combination of role-playing, music, poetry and visuals, and the girls enjoyed being an integral part of the performance. The stories came from the finest form of oral tradition, and we’d definitely invite Jan back to do more.” (Alex Radovanovic, Melbourne Girls Grammar)

“Great for SOSE/ Australian history/ English. Jan held their attention extremely well, and the stories challenged the students to think. Involving students was fantastic as students related to their peers.” (Shirl King, DimboolaSecondary College)

“Students loved the show and they thought Jan was great, and having students involved in the performance showed that this was cool. The performance was excellent; varied and relaxed but quite structured.” (Neil King, Horsham College)

“Very good. Provides a pleasing alternative to class work and gave some freedom and expression to other ‘intelligences’. The rapport with the students was really positive, and the large groups after recess and lunch were managed very effectively.” (Graham O’Rourke, Xavier College)

“Thanks you for giving Lest We Forget as the keynote presentation at the HTAV’s 25th Anniversary Conference. I heard lots of positive comments, some of whom said it was moving and informative as well as entertaining. I think academic conferences benefit from an artistic perspective and I think participants would have had their hearts and imaginations kindled by your performance. Thanks you also for being well organised and making the process so smooth from an administrator’s point of view.” (Ingred Purnell, History Teachers’ Association of Victoria)

“As a context for students to explore and understand Australian history it was excellent.” (Ian Tymms, Woodleigh School)

“Jan’s use of primary sources, such as literature and song from the period, provided students with the Turkish and Australian perspectives untainted by time or the subjective nature of historical analysis. It was a great way of learning, and can have a greater impact on younger students who sometimes have a negative view of history.” (Gerry Martin, Port Phillip Leader)

“I have seen Jan’s Lest We Forget performance twice. Once in a venue at Eceabat and then again at the Dawn Service with a group of fellow travellers to Gallipoli. I can say with certainty that its combination of shared commemoration with the Turks, its multi-layered tributes to the spirit of reconciliation and the memory of those who were sacrificed moved everyone present.

Jan’s work is ingenious in being able to capture both the Anzac and Turkish experience and present it in a way that is totally accessible, engaging, and respectful but at the same time quietly theatrical. His pre-Dawn Service performance is in perfect harmony with the occasion and provides the gathering with an appropriate level of focus, sensitive to the tone of the occasion. Jan is a true latter day troubadour in the tradition of Australian Bush poets and Turkish ‘ozans’ and “ashiks’. I hope he can become a regular fixture at Anzac Cove’s Dawn Service.” (Harvey Broadbent, author and producer of  Gallipoli writings and documentaries)

The Go-Between: William Murrungurk Buckley

Storytelling Theatre                                                                                                                                                                               Year 5/6 & secondary                                                                                                                                                          Student participation

“Highly useful! Gave children a unique perspective of how Melbourne evolved and of the uneasy relationship between cultures. The children listened intently and Jan had their attention for the full session. We loved the printed images on shirts and signposts to reinforce the information.”  (Adam Watman, Caulfield Grammar)

“A breezy and brilliant piece of troubadour theatre. As with the very best of theatre ‘Buckley’ covers its tracks so well its agenda remains a secret – buried beneath layers of entertainment, comedy, story and song. A show worth tracking.”  (Herald-Sun)

William Buckley when he re-joined white society, 1835

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Brief


This show deals with the oft-hidden story of Indigenous Australia and European colonisation of the Port Phillip area, from 1803 – 1837, including the founding of Melbourne. This history is told through the amazing tale of escaped convict William Buckley (1780 – 1856), including:

  • The first attempted white settlement on Port Phillip (1803)

  • The Wathaurong people of the Geelong with whom Buckley lived for 32 years as ‘Murrungurk’, a spirit returned from the dead.

  • Melbourne’s beginning (1835-7) – where Buckley became the go-between

  • John Batman and his attempts to buy the land off the Wurundjeri people

  • Oher colonists such as John Fawkner.

Drawing on Buckley’s 1852 biography, official documents, contemporary Buckley literature, Wathaurong language and Jan’s research in ‘Buckley country’, The Go-Between: William Murrungurk Buckley is a well-researched ripping yarn, with a quirky visual display of familiar Melbourne street signs and historical images.

See Full Description  below.

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The Practical Stuff

Duration            60 mins + questions                                                                                                                                                     Set up                  60 min
Cost                      $5 per student. $500 minimum per show, plus travel to some locations

Full Description

This show deals with Indigenous Australia and European colonisation of the Port Phillip area, from 1803 – 1837, including the founding of Melbourne.

It does so by tracking the life of convict William Buckley (1780-1856), including:

  • Buckley’s 1803 escape from Victoria’s first attempted settlement at Sorrento.
  • Buckley’s 32 years with Wathaurong Aboriginal people, where he became ‘Murrungurk’.
  • Buckley’s two years as the go-between in Melbourne’s foundation (1835-7), employed as Interpreter between the Port Phillip Aborigines and the colonists – John Batman, John Fawkner and co.

Drawing on Buckley’s 1852 biography, official documents, contemporary Buckley literature, Wathaurong language and Jan’s research in ‘Buckley country’, The Go-Between: William Murrungurk Buckley is a well-researched ripping yarn, with a quirky visual display of familiar Melbourne street signs and historical images.

It’s exciting, wild frontier history, such as we rarely hear about Victoria, and pulls no punches about the characters, ironies and violence of the time, without fear or favour to black or white, including:

*   Batman’s land deal or ‘treaty’ with the Woiwurrung people
*   Fawkner’s rivalry with Batman and his antipathy to Buckley
*   How Derrimut foiled a planned massacre of the colonists
*   The first killings of settlers and subsequent massacre of Aboriginals at Werribee
*   The disappearance of solicitor Gellibrand, who wrote Batman’s deed, and the sabotage of Buckley’s
search for him by black and white interests.

And in telling this oft-hidden history, students are asked to consider many questions about black-white relations that are as pertinent today as in the 1800’s.

And it’s from William Buckley that we have our saying, You’ve got Buckley’s – but its origin will surprise!

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Teacher’s Notes
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Jan’s Family Show

A Variety Show – Music, Stories, Theatre, Participation

“Jan ‘Yarn’ Wositzky’s Family Show is a joyful and intriguing hour of music, storytelling and history. Jan draws the audience in with his warmth and humour, delighting adults and children alike with arcane skills such as spoon-playing and stick puppetry. No-one even notices they’ve been learning something about Australia’s culture while they’re itching to have a go up on stage in Jan’s spontaneous band.”  (Jennifer Andersen, La Mama for Kids coordinator, 2007-2010)

Enquiries/ Bookings

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