THIS week, it will be my privilege to attend the launch of Land and Learning in the Shadow of Wahluu at our Bathurst campus.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It is a fascinating and informative brochure developed by a Charles Sturt research group that maps the many layers of natural history and development of the university's site here in Bathurst.
The research team delved into the rich story of human interaction with the tract of land on which the university now stands.
Did you know, for example, that under the engineering building is a bora ring that was the initial stage for young men to be educated before they had the journey to Wahluu?
The team, led by sociologist Dr Ann Lazarsfeld-Jensen, and researchers Vianne Tourle and PhD candidate Tracy Sorensen, hoped to inspire deeper examination of the past to inform the future.
"In recorded history, an agricultural research station, known as The Experiment Farm, was the first significant development, lending its name to Research Station Drive, which today is the western boundary entry to the university," Dr Lazarsfeld-Jensen said.
"But long before The Experiment Farm was established in 1895, the Wiradyuri people pursued cultural learning on the land through storytelling, on their way to ceremonies on Wahluu, also known as Mount Panorama.
"The Farm's technological excellence in developing sustainable crops for the young colony helped it carve a place in history through the development of the Granny Smith apple and drought resistant crops.
"A second significant layer of history was the opening of Bathurst Teachers' College in 1951 with the teacher education program that supplied teachers to the schools of rural Australia.
"The Teachers' College became Mitchell College of Advanced Education in 1971, and became Charles Sturt University in 1989."
Dr Lazarsfeld-Jensen said the history of the campus space, and the layers of cultural and educational endeavour pursued here, are now represented in vignettes and images in the newly released brochure Land and Learning in the Shadow of Wahluu.
"The publication considers the age of the Anthropocene - human impact on the environment - and points to the precious landmarks at the end of Research Station Drive, awaiting a new purpose," she said.
The brochure Land and Learning in the Shadow of Wahluu will be launched at 10.30am Wednesday, November 27 at The Cowshed (building 1298) at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
The project was a partnership between the Charles Sturt School of Biomedical Sciences, the Friends of the Bathurst Agricultural Research Station Inc, and the Bathurst and District Branch of the National Trust, and was funded by a Charles Sturt University Sustainability Research Seed Grant.
University's support for the LGBTIQA+ community
CSU will be showing its full support for LGBTIQA+ inclusion at the Pride in Practice Conference in Sydney this week.
CSU's project manager for equity and diversity, Nicholas Steepe from Bathurst, will represent the university on the conference's Young Leaders: Navigating Barriers To Inclusion panel.
He will discuss the work and projects he has implemented for LGBTIQA+ inclusion in his role at CSU and throughout his career in regional NSW, as well as the work he has done as a community activist and volunteer.