Paul Carmody Sharing language on Jarowair and Giabal land

Added by First Languages Australia

Description Paul Carmody is a teacher at Amaroo Outdoor Education Centre in Kleinton, southern Queensland.

Located on Jarowair and Giabal land, the centre welcomes more than 5000 students through the gates each year.

Paul is neither a Jarowair nor Giabal man.

His father - the singer-songwriter Kev Carmody - is from the Bunjalung nation, originally located around the northern coastal areas of NSW.

His grandfather is Lama Lama from Cape York in north Queensland.

Growing up, Paul spoke very little Aboriginal language other than English.

“Even though the first 12 to 18 months of my life was on an ant bed floor the rest of the time we had running water and electricity like most of you folks,” explains Paul.

“So language being a part of our everyday lives was not there.

"However the cultural aspects - the bush stuff, the connection to country, the symbiotic relationship of flora and fauna - was very, very strong growing up as kids.”

The education centre has a strong relationship with the Jarowair custodians who maintain, care for and facilitate walks at Gummingurru, a local male initation site.

Now with the guidance and permission of local elders, Paul is helping to share traditional words and local Indigenous culture with the many students who visit each year.

ABC Open Producer: Ben Tupas

This video was originally contributed to the ABC Open Mother Tongue project, which invited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to share a story about their mother tongue.