YarnUp 9: Uncle Des
June 26th, 2024
YarnUp celebrates First Nations volunteering and achievements. In the ninth instalment, Wiradjuri Elder and volunteer, Uncle Desmond Ord, discusses Culture, Sorry Business, sports volunteering, his love of music, the importance of respect and care for Elders, and more.
Read his story, presented in partnership with Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation, today:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers and listeners are advised, this series contains stories of a sensitive nature and images, voices or names of people who may have died.
Facilitated by Tribal Warrior Talent
My Mob are the Wiradjuri people in Dubbo, but I was raised in Bourke, that’s the Barkindji people. I’ve been there since I was 4 or 5, so I was there for 25 years in Bourke. There’s a kinship there ‘cos they adopt you into their community and you gotta learn their ways and I’ve done that, like fishing and everything with the boys and yarns with the Old People. There’s a lot of history out in the Bush there and I like hearing it and then you hand it down.
I miss being back home. Not only because of the traffic, the rush or whatever here, but because the people are more relaxed and it’s just a different humour as well out there with the Old People, I miss all that. Everything is funny out there, the way they tell their stories and like, they don’t meant to be funny, but they’re funny without realising it the way they come out with things. The pace is very different. There’s not the same stress. It’s more abundant and more relaxed. We can go fishing, camping, hunting kangaroos, emus, porcupines, whatever. When I do go out there, I’m always like, I need to get to that River first, the Darling River and put my feet in the red dirt.
My Culture gives me a sense of identity. It helps with everyday life, knowing where you come from and it just helps you in that sense. You don’t want to be walking around wondering, ‘Who am I? What am I supposed to do?’, so Culture just gives you a sense of identity and confidence that I’m Desmond Ord and I’m Wiradjuri.
Read the rest of Uncle Des’s story
To learn more about this project, visit our webpage, celebrating our partnership with Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation.
Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation website (Tribal Warrior) is a non-profit organisation founded and directed by Aboriginal peoples, with Elders from various NSW Aboriginal nations at its helm. For more information on their range of programs, cultural tours and experiences, visit the Tribal Warrior website.