Story Circle & Workshop Day An Australian Storyteller: Respect, Research, Responsibility and Restraint with Anne E Stewart.

The wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of those who attended the day. When asked who wanted to share a story at the circle and receive feedback just about every hand shot up. What a feast of stories it was, a creation myth, a fairy tale, a historical story and a tale from the perspective of a chicken and everyone present gained helpful advice from some of the more experienced tellers.

Anne E. Stewart certainly provoked lively debate with her workshop An Australian Storyteller The group discussion was enlightening and extremely valuable to any teller who has ever considered telling an Indigenous story. Anne also gave us many ideas of how white storytellers may demonstrate respect and honour for Indigenous culture, and how we can promote the sense of place.

The afternoon’s discussion moved on to colonial settlement and how we may find a new relationship to those stories through research of family, place, famous people and even our currency. We also heard more stories with Australian content during the afternoon and by the close of the day, everyone was abuzz with new “Australian” story ideas they were eager to develop further.