TWENTY Aboriginal male students from Hawkesbury High School have been learning to play didgeridoos - instruments crafted by their own hands during NAIDOC Week.
During July, NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across the country to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The boys were supervised by the school’s Aboriginal education officer Dewayne Trewlynn, who organised the program.
He said the boys will keep their didgeridoos, and learn to play them throughout the year.
“The aim of the day is to raise cultural awareness among our Aboriginal male students and to encourage the boys to take pride in their culture,” he said.
“The idea of making the didgeridoo rather than buying them is so the boys can not only see what it’s like to make didgeridoos, but also take pride in their own didgeridoo due to them being the only ones to ever play it and the work they put in to it.”
The boys skinned back their didgeridoos at school and were encouraged to paint them.
“Next term, the boys and myself will meet on a regular basis and I will teach them how to play the didges,” said Mr Trewlynn.
“After they all learn they can take them home and I eventually aim to encourage them to perform with the school.”