Great-grandmother learns her native language at very special preschool

Julie Craig might be 65 years old, but she is learning her native language at a preschool on the NSW Mid North Coast.

Her great-granddaughter Enalanii Greenup attends the Kulai Preschool, which Aunty Julie attended as a child and where she is now learning Gumbaynggirr language for the first time.

"I grew up with none because my grandparents passed away when I was very young and my mum and dad didn't speak it," she said.

"I learn more from [the preschool] than what I did in my lifetime."

Before the assimilation policy was abolished by the Whitlam government in 1972, speaking Indigenous languages was banned in Australian schools.

"I think back in those days they weren't allowed to talk to us in lingo," Ms Craig said.

"My great-grandkids are learning more [now] because the language is spoken in the preschool.

"My granddaughter sings the songs to her mother, I can't sing it in English anymore, I got to do it in language."

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, with permission from Kulai Preschool.

The preschool was established in 1961 by philanthropic organisation, Save the Children Fund, on the Wongala Mission in Coffs Harbour.

It became an Aboriginal Controlled Community Organisation (ACCO) in 1989 and Ms Craig started working there as an educator more than 20 years ago.

Kulai director Julie Carey has seen some changes in her 34 years working at Kulai.

She said a lot of work was done in the language revitalisation space with Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative, but it wasn't until 2022 that formal language programs were introduced into the curriculum.

Ms Carey said most of the people that work there and send their children there are former graduates of Kulai.

"Your culture is your identity and your sense of belonging to this place is so important to our families and our overall wellbeing," she said.

About an hour south is the Dalaigur Preschool.

It was started by Save the Children in 1965 on Greenhill Reserve and became an ACCO in 1991 before relocation to its current site on the outskirts of West Kempsey.

Both Kulai and Dalaigur are among the oldest Aboriginal run preschools in the country, behind only the Ida Standley Preschool Alice Springs, which opened in 1960.

Dalaigur's chair of the board is Uncle Fred Kelly, whose mother and sister were involved in the early days of the preschool.

He said people learnt very quickly not to speak their Dhanggati language for fear they would get be in "a lot of trouble".

"You had to do it on the quiet," Mr Kelly said.

"Families were separated or forcibly removed for speaking their language."

Mr Kelly said the preschool provided a transition for the kids on Burnt Bridge and Greenhill mission to prepare for school.

"The first part of that was just showing the kids that they were loved," he said.

Director of Dalaigur Debbie Swanson said culture and language were naturally embedded in the preschool.

"Mob wants to be looked after by mob, because they know they're going to be culturally safe,"she said.

"Now we apply for funding that's specific to culture and language to employ people to deliver that."

But there are concerns from the Dalaigur board that when the children graduate, their rich language and cultural learning might also stop.

Born out of the same concern was Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School in Coffs Harbour.

It was opened in 2022 as the first bilingual primary school featuring Indigenous language in the state.

Dylan Berger is a Gumbaynggirr/Dhanggati/Yuin man and part of the Daari Gumbaynggirr research project with the University of Western Sydney.

It focuses on language revitalisation at Kulai and the Freedom School.

Through surveys, interviews and observation with students, staff and families between 2024 and 2026, they found the children had a stronger sense of cultural identity than previous generations.

"We're dealing with the after-effect of colonial violence," Mr Berger said.

"Places like Kulai and the Freedom School are repairing the damage done to our language and culture.

"If we didn't have the Freedom School to continue that, our aspirations for eventually reaching really stable bilingualism, would just be a pipedream."

Catherine Liddle is the CEO of peak national body for Aboriginal early childhood education — Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, (SNAICC).

She said a study in last year's Family Matters Report from Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School found children who begin education at Kulai "often arrived at the school as competent speakers with a strong sense of cultural identity and confidence".

"Educators consistently observed that children from Kulai engaged enthusiastically and demonstrated a deeper understanding of Gumbaynggirr language and culture, while peers from mainstream settings often need extra support to re-establish their cultural connection," Ms Liddle said in a statement.

"This demonstrates the impact of culturally strong early childhood environments in nurturing academic readiness, early years development and lifelong wellbeing."