by Bridey Lea
A new project brings together the incredible life’s work of Veronica Perrurle Dobson (AM).
On Wednesday 2 April, the Centre for Australian Languages and Linguistics (CALL) at Batchelor Institute launched Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme (Gathering all the things together) at their Mparntwe (Alice Springs) campus.
Image Source: Charlee-Ann Ah Chee
Veronica Dobson is an Eastern Arrernte elder, linguist, educator, author and ecologist, whose advocacy and work for language and culture is widely recognised and deeply respected. For over four decades, Veronica has worked in many inter-related fields – language documentation and teaching, lexicography, interpreting, ethnobiology, and land management. The result is a vast body of work which is presented for the first time through Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme. The veronicadobson.au website is a guide to Veronica’s life, work, and publications, and contains links to archival collections of her work.
Veronica’s daughter, Camille Dobson, spoke about the process of creating this collection at the recent launch.
“Over the past year I was privileged to work with Ben Foley, Jenny Green and Ange Harrison on this project, which places the Aboriginal knowledge holder at the center of the collection. It is an important collection and now means that her amazing work can be found in one place,” she said.
In June last year, Batchelor CALL partnered with the Language Data Commons of Australia to develop a ‘person-centred collection’. Many archival collections revolve around non-Indigenous collectors like linguists and anthropologists who have recorded and accumulated material over their lifetime. Person-centred collections reframe our focus and enhance our understanding of the collection items by showing them as the cohesive work of an Aboriginal knowledge holder.
“I knew my mum, Veronica Perrurle Dobson, had contributed much to the language that she loves, but until I worked on this project really didn’t understand just how much, and there is more to come,” said Camille.
Veronica’s intention for Arne ingkerreke apurtelhe-ileme is that the fruits of her work are cared for and accessible for future generations. For Camille, the collection also has the potential to inspire.
“Still working at 80, Mum is an inspiration to our family. I hope others will also be inspired by her passion, dedication and story,” she said.
Veronica’s dedication to and passion for language and culture fills the project website, and it is certainly an achievement to celebrate. Do not miss the Recollections page; this is a very special opportunity to hear about Veronica’s life from her birth at Arltunga and her attendance at the Catholic Mission school there, to the early days of her work with the Institute for Aboriginal Development (IAD).
“For me, what I have done has not been like work. I do what I do because I love my language and know how important it is – this is the knowledge I learned from my grandparents.”
—Veronica Dobson
Image Source: Charlee-Ann Ah Chee