Welcome To Country

A beautiful slipcase edition, complete with exclusive keepsake print, of the award-winning Welcome to Country ­– a stunning representation of an important Aboriginal tradition.

Aboriginal communities across Australia have boundaries that are defined by mountain ranges and waterways. Traditionally, to cross these boundaries, permission is required. Each community has its own way of greeting, but the practice shares a common name: a Welcome to Country. Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin, the senior Aboriginal elder of the Wurundjeri people, channels her passion for storytelling into a remarkable and utterly unique picture book that invites readers to discover some of the history and traditions of her people. Indigenous artist Lisa Kennedy gives the Wurundjeri Welcome to Country form in beautiful paintings rich with blues and browns, as full of wonder and history as the tradition they depict.

About the Author

Joy Murphy Wandin AO is the Senior Aboriginal Elder of the Wurundjeri People of Melbourne and surrounds. We show respect for her and other Elders by calling them Aunty or Uncle. Aunty Joy has had numerous government appointments including as a member of the Equal Opportunity Commission of Victoria and of the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal. She is a storyteller and a writer and is passionate about using story to bring people together and as a conduit for understanding Aboriginal culture. Welcome to Country is her first book.

About the Illustrator

Lisa Kennedy is descendant of the Trawlwoolway People on the north-east coast of Tasmania. Lisa was born in Melbourne and as a child lived close to the Maribyrnong River. Here she experienced the gradual restoration of the natural river environment alongside cultural regeneration and reclamation. Through sense of place she feels connected to the Wurundjeri country and all that entails — the water, the land, the animals and the ancestors. The experience of loss and reclamation is embedded in her work. Welcome to Country is her first title with Black Dog Books.