Possum Skin Cloak Workshop in Newcastle

Throughout term three, 2022, a possum skin cloak-making workshop was held at the Newcastle High School, Cooks Hill Campus. Professor Kate Senior, Kerri Clarke (Boonwurrung/Wemba Wemba) and Mitch Mahoney (Boonwurrung/Wemba Wemba/Barkindji) worked with the students and staff to begin the creation of a major artwork – a possum skin cloak. Cloaks are traditional items that are connected to people from the southeast of Australia. Kerri and Mitch’s family are among the people from the southeast who are engaged in reclaiming cloak-making as a way of telling stories and passing cultural information on to the next generation. Our reason for cloak-making in Newcastle was also connected to the Living Archive project’s collaboration with the community of Ngukurr in southeast Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. For the Newcastle students, their role in learning to stitch the pelts of the cloak together corresponded with them listening and learning about the story of Dexter Daniels, great uncle of Daphne Daniels – one of the co-researchers on the Living Archive project. They learnt that Dexter was a renowned activist from the 1960-70s, who fought for the rights of his people. He was instrumental in organising and supporting the Wave Hill Walk Off (1966), which eventually led to the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, NT. (1976). Dexter spent some time in the southern states, including Newcastle, lobbying trade unions to support the land rights movement and equal rights for First Nations people.

The possum skin cloak-making workshop was a forum for knowledge exchange, as Kerri and Mitch shared their knowledge of cloak construction; from sewing. though to learning about using ochre to dye the cloak, as well as opening up the space for discussions about the types of design work that would later be marked on the cloak, as part of the storytelling process. The cloak will be taken to the Ngukurr community where artists in the community, along with Mitch and Kerri, will collaborate to complete the mark-making/cloak designs. Although, possum skin cloaks are not traditionally made in Ngukurr, as demonstrated in the Newcastle workshops, they are a medium for knowledge exchange through art-making. The cloak-making workshops also provided opportunities for students to engage in storytelling through yarning together with First Nations knowledge holders, as part of the learning process that emerges from and is connected to cloak-making. Taking the cloak to Ngukurr, as part of this knowledge exchange will provide opportunities for communities to come together, share ideas and tell stories that have been lying dormant in the archives, including the story of Dexter Daniels, who worked hard to focus attention on the histories and culture of his people to a broad audience.

The flyer for the event – which provides more information about Dexter Daniels, the Living Archive project and the possum skin cloak workshop – can be viewed HERE.