New pathways for young Butchulla men

Last month, Glen Miller, one of our hardworking Board Members, spoke at the opening of the Gallipoli to Armistice Memorial in Maryborough, Queensland.

Glen is a proud descendant of the Butchulla people of the Fraser Coast (K’gari) and his speech recognised four young Butchulla men who enlisted to fight in the First World War: Harry Aldridge Jnr, and the Blackman brothers, Alfred, Charles and Thomas.

“We Butchulla are as proud of these four as the rest of Australia is of the thousands [who also served overseas]. They are our heroes,” Glen told an audience that included Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Dr Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Four years ago, Glen was at the forefront of our Foundation’s efforts to re-publish The Legends of Moonie Jarl, stories told to him as a boy by his uncle Wilfy, the book’s author. It was the first Aboriginal children’s book authored and published by Aboriginal people. Fifty years after its original publication in 1964, we were thrilled to make The Legends of Moonie Jarl available once again.

While Glen continues his advocacy work on behalf of ILF, he also continues to work for his community. As founder of the Butchulla Men’s Business Association, he is the driving force behind an innovative program for adolescent boys from the Fraser Coast.

Concerned that many young Butchulla boys hadn’t had strong male role models as they grew from boyhood to manhood, Glen enlisted the expertise of Dr Arne Rubinstein, renowned for his work on male rites of passage. The upshot is a four-day camp in mid-August, to be held on Butchulla land at Ravens Hill.

“It aims to support boys in the Butchulla community to make that important transition to manhood,” explains Glen.

The program has been designed to meet the specific cultural needs of the Butchulla boys, many of whom will be attending with their fathers.

Order a copy of The Legends of Moonie Jarl