Can you belong to a culture you're still learning how to carry?
Illustrator Jaelyn Biumaiwai has spent most of her life navigating that question.
Raised on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Jaelyn's story is about piecing together identity when the world doesn't offer you the full picture. Growing up in a twin bubble, surrounded by family, she didn't always have the words — or community — to help her feel grounded in her Fijian identity. That journey she's had to seek out, reclaim, and learn to carry in her own way.
Now, through bold and beautiful illustrations, Jaelyn brings her culture to life, not just for herself, but for others still searching too. In this episode, we talk identity, cultural reconnection, and the joy of finally seeing yourself, and helping others do the same.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Port Lincoln residents stand against council green space development push
Port Lincoln residents have clashed with their council over a proposal to develop green spaces in the city. The council has proposed to revoke the community land classification of five council-owned sites. It said they could be used for aged care, child care or housing if the community saw value in repurposing them. But the proposal has sparked action from residents who say green spaces should be left alone. About 200 Port Lincoln residents gathered on Sunday to voice their concerns over the council's proposal to develop Harbour View Reserve. It has been a popular spot for kids' play, dog walking, and recreation. The reserve could potentially become the site for an aged care facility, which the council said was needed among an ageing demographic. Save Harbour Reserve member Tijana Stockhem said she wanted to protect the community status of the land so it could not be developed. "Once the community status of the land is revoked, there's no protection," Ms Stockhem said. "I guess we have no idea what will be built on this parcel of land, and there's no guarantee as well that any of this parcel of land will remain for the community … which is concerning." Ms Stockhem, a mother of two boys, said she had spoken with more than 100 residents around the area. She said the reserve was valued for recreation. "We'll keep working together as a group to spread awareness and try and protect this space … once this parcel of land is gone, it's gone," she said. "I'm not just thinking of our current mental health ... I'm thinking of the future as well. City of Port Lincoln Mayor Diana Mislov said while she looked forward to receiving feedback, there was a growing need for aged care in the city. "We are an ageing demographic, that's proven by the RDA [Regional Development Australia] studies … we're getting older and staying alive longer and we do need more aged care facilities," she said. "I think there's some more discussion that could be had at the table, just to see where aged care is best suited for in Port Lincoln and what capacity both of those enterprises will have." Senior lecturer in urban and regional planning at Flinders University, Gerti Szili, said the need for more land would grow as more people relocated to regional areas for reasons such as affordability. "Much like metropolitan areas, green space is critical for regional areas as well," Dr Szili said. "I guess the question of how we balance green space with the obvious infrastructure needs and growth … it's not really a simple either-or answer. "It's really about how we manage land use in a way that meets the critical or broader needs of the community without compromising those long-term community wellbeing and liveability aspects." City of Port Lincoln chief executive Eric Brown said it was important to note the demand for aged care, child care and housing had come from the community through council research and community consultation. "Conducted over the past three years, both our Economic Development Strategy and Housing Strategy have identified a critical shortage of child care, aged care, social, affordable, and key worker housing," Mr Brown said. "This concern was strongly echoed in our community Housing Strategy survey, which received over 200 responses — the largest response our housing consultant has ever recorded — highlighting widespread community concern about the lack of housing in Port Lincoln." Mr Brown said Port Lincoln had a relatively high amount of surplus land when compared to other councils and the state average. However, he said very few land parcels were available that met size and infrastructure requirements. "While we acknowledge the valid concerns of residents living near proposed development sites, the broader community — including homelessness support services, aged care providers, and local businesses — are urging council to act," he said.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
This plaque near a Canberra shopping centre car park offers a window into a family's tragic war story
There are little clues scattered throughout Canberra — a plaque here, a street sign there — pointing to a tragic story of a family that helped forge the nation's capital. Easily missed, they tell the story of a migrant family, three brothers and a fateful, tragic month. Englishman Walter Eddison survived a gassing in France during World War I and fighting on the shores of Gallipoli to set up life with his wife, three sons and three daughters on a 750-acre block on what was then the outskirts of Canberra in 1919. Anthony Hill, historian and author of For the Love of Country which retells the family's tale, said Canberra at that time was still sheep grazing country. "Canberra was just a beginning settlement — a population of only a few thousand. Just as the Eddisons were arriving did work really start," he said. But the outbreak of World War II would pause the growth of the capital and draw in the Eddison family. The three sons left the farm to fight in the war: Tom and Keith as pilots, Jack with the 2/20th Battalion. In 1941, the family received news that Tom was missing — possibly dead — after being shot down returning from a raid over Germany. Mr Hill said the Eddisons couldn't find out any information. Finally, in May 1943, the family received confirmation that Tom had been killed and was buried in the Netherlands. About the same time, the Canberra Times reported Keith was involved in "[giving] one of the severest hammerings this Japanese-occupied land has yet had". Just a fortnight later, days after Tom's death was confirmed, Keith was killed in New Guinea. It was at this time the family also received written correspondence from Jack — a prisoner of war (POW) in the Japanese Naoetsu camp after the fall of Singapore. The letter gave the family hope Jack would one day return. "Right through 1943, '44 and '45, they were waiting for Jack to come home," Mr Hill said. "[They thought], 'When Jack comes back, he'll fix the farm'." But they didn't receive any more correspondence. That letter, received in May 1943, would be the last. Mr Hill said after the news that two of his sons were dead and the other was in a POW camp, Mr Eddison refused to answer the telephone. He couldn't deal with more bad news. Mr Eddison was working out in a paddock when it rang in 1945. "Jack wasn't coming home. "You can imagine the devastating news." Jack Eddison had died of pneumonia on June 17, 1943, — just a fortnight after Keith had been killed. Mr Hill said the family's story showed "the real nature of war". "It was a great tragedy, but they were a stoic, brave family and they carried on," he said. The brothers' niece, Wendy Townley, grew up always feeling like she knew the uncles she had been too young to remember — from the photos on the walls, and the things they'd left behind. "They were part of the family," she said. "This is Jack's horse and Jack's dog and Tom's bed. They were talked about a lot." Yet her grandfather, Walter, never talked about his sons or the war. Ms Townley said she never quite understood as a child just what a tragedy it was. "But you don't ask questions as a kid. I wish I'd asked more about it. "I don't think it really dawned on me how really horrible it was until I had kids of my own and thought, 'Hell, how could you live with that?'. "My grandmother was so strong. She was my hero." Nowadays, the family homestead, called Yamba, has been replaced with a shopping centre. A plaque near the car park is the only remnant it existed at all. There are other tributes to the brothers, too. Mr Hill said the Eddison name was remembered in all sorts of places. "[Canberra] was named after people," he said. There's Yamba Drive, Eddison Park in Woden, and a plaque in St John's Church on the pew where Ms Townley and her family used to sit. "It's lovely the family are remembered," she said. When Ms Townley's brother sat down to start grade six at Canberra Grammar School — the school has a house called Eddison — he looked down to see the name 'Keith Eddison' carved into his desk. What many would have discarded as no more than schoolyard graffiti was just another little clue pointing to a most tragic history. "We're all very proud of the name."
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Gippsland communities fear erosion protection not coping with rising tides
Protective works paid for by the state government to shelter the coastline of southern Gippsland have failed in the wake of recent abnormal tidal activity. It has spurred renewed calls for permanent protective works to prevent further erosion, with some residents terrified that rising water could submerge their homes. Almost 150 kilometres south-east of Melbourne, Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club has been battling creeping coastal erosion for years. A 70-metre geotextile container wall was built in Inverloch in 2020 for $450,000. But sand erosion has since spread behind the wall and encroached on the clubhouse. Sand dunes abutting the clubhouse were hammered by abnormally high tidal water in late May. The water rose close to 3 metres throughout the week, breaking past a temporary fence installed to help prevent further erosion. Surf lifesaving club president Glenn Arnold said a stronger wall was the long-term solution. "If you're asking me, and I know this is a contentious issue, I'm saying throw rocks at it," he said. "It's not a wall, it's an ingress. "So it's protecting the dunes, backfilling behind the ingress into the ocean to allow more sand to collect." Mr Arnold said a wall made of rocks would be more suited to the area. "They're cost efficient, they're environmentally friendly, they're aesthetically pleasing, more so than ugly manufactured sandbags," he said. Member for Bass, Jordan Crugnale, said the Bass Coast Shire Council and the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA) were monitoring both areas with designs to repair and extend the geotextile wall. A call for tenders has been put out for the reconstruction project. When asked if there was a need for stronger coastal erosion mitigation works, Ms Crugnale said the government was being directed by experts and science. Further along the coastline at Phillip Island, a $565,000 rock bag wall installed in April to protect residential properties in Silverleaves has failed to protect the beach. Residents watched as the wall of mesh bags filled with rocks struggled to fight the surge of rising high tides. Seawater has swept up behind the bags, cutting into the shoreline. Cowes resident and member of the Silverleaves Conservation Association, Will Dwyer, said a lot of sand and trees had been lost. "We've lost a number of banksia trees that have come down, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop." Rather than block the tide, Mr Dwyer said the rock bags had shifted the problem further down the beach. He said residents were frustrated and tired of fighting for a solution. "This has been going on for years. We've been fighting for years to get something to happen, and in that time we've lost 18 to 20 metres of foreshore," he said. "We're just concerned that it took years for them to do what they've done. "If it's going to take another couple of years, we're just going to keep losing foreshore until Silverleaves becomes inundated." A spokesperson for Bass Coast Shire Council said contractors would reinstate sand at both ends of the Inverloch sandbag wall this week. In March, the Victorian government announced more than $17 million in funding to address coastal erosion, safety risks and access issues across the state's most vulnerable sections of coastline, from Warrnambool to Lakes Entrance. A DEECA spokesperson said the government would continue to work with the council to monitor coastal hazards. Community members can have their say on the Engage Victoria website before June 8.
