At dawn on 26 January 2023, a couple of hundred Gold Coasters gathered in Firth Park, Mudgeeraba, for a Kombumerri History and Healing Ceremony.
The purpose of the event was to acknowledge the past and look forward into the future, together. It featured a Welcome to Country, stories from the history of the traditional owners of the area, a smoking ceremony, didgeridoo, and Bundjalung dancers.
Attendees also learned, most for the first time, about a devastating massacre of the Kombumerri people during the early days of colonisation.
The original vision for the event came from Goompi, a local artist, teacher and mentor. Goompi is not a traditional Kombumerri custodian but was born in the area and is respected among the community.
Upon receiving support for the concept from Division 9 Councillor, Glenn Tozer, Goompi approached traditional Kombumerri landowner and First Nations leader Aunty Justine Dillon, who then hosted the event along with Max Dillon (Kupae Girramun Galeen Kombumerri Nunukul).
“It is a great move forward and first of its kind in our Nation, to have a ceremony with settlement families and First Nations of the Gold Coast to heal our Kombumerri people’s generational trauma,” said Justine of the event.
"The cycle can start to be broken, by recognition and understanding, supported by our non-Indigenous community and local government. Our people have hope for a mended, shared and functional future.”
Cr Tozer explained his outlook on the ceremony.
“Many First Nations people in our city see Australia Day with deep sadness and sometimes anger," he said.
"Mudgeeraba has a difficult history in this regard and a Kombumerri-led community activity to talk about grief and mourning and loss seemed like a good step toward my aspiration for forgiveness and reconciliation.”
Following the event, Goompi presented the Mudgeeraba Community Centre with an original painting he created in honour of the historic event.
“It’s the area of where the sporting grounds are and surrounds, where the Kombumerri tribe used to live” he described his work. “It basically outlines the area and the people coming together to do a healing ceremony.
“When I did create it, it wasn’t about a negative point of view, which was the massacre. I created it about the day in general, about having to acknowledge the loss of those ancestors.
“There were massacres all over the Gold Coast, which I don’t think a lot of people are aware of, or talk about. When people passed from these massacres and poisonings, these were horrific deaths and the spirits are still here on the land. When I go to certain places I can feel negative energy, or sadness, where I lose my breath. It’s not a good feeling.”
Goompi explains why the ceremony was important, not just for the local First Nations people but for the community as a whole.
“What we do in smoking ceremonies is clear away the bad spirits and any bad energy, and it allows a pathway for the good spirits and good energy to come back in. That day was about acknowledging those people that had lost their lives, which appeases those spirits. It helps them on their journey to the next world, or on their spirit journey.
“Every time there’s an Aboriginal subject brought up, it’s not a discussion, it’s a debate, and that’s the way it’s been for many years. If no one’s going to change the date, why keep circling around doing the same old thing? I decided to flip the script.
“There’s a lot of trauma and history that isn’t spoken about, and part of this event was to speak about that stuff in a positive way. Educating people about it is a first step in coming together as a community.”
Goompi’s artwork, entitled ‘Mudgeeraba Dreaming’ is on display at the Mudgeeraba Community Centre. It stands as a commemorative piece about the historic healing ceremony, and the dreams of a healed, connected community in the future.
