By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
“We burnt it on the possum cloak
It’s etched there for all time
The story on the possum cloak
Is ours, it’s yours, and we’re wrapped in its warmth strong and fine.”
A HEATHERHILL Primary School choir of 40 shared the story of its revered possum cloak in a song in front of a 2500-strong concert crowd in Melbourne’s iconic Hamer Hall on Saturday.
The choir was part of a Boite Millennium Chorus concert of 390 indigenous, Anglo and multicultural singers which included Archie Roach and Shane Howard.
The warm possum cloak has been a part of the school’s folklore since its New Zealand-sourced pelts were sewn and illustrated by students three years ago.
The cloak – complete with tails, claws and vacant eye sockets – is displayed prominently in the school office foyer and its creation story has been the subject of a limited edition book.
Heatherhill principal Mary Verwey said the cloak – and the tribute song – was an enduring symbol for the school.
“We’re a very multicultural school. The idea behind the cloak was bringing together people from all over the world at Heatherhill.”
Boite chorus directors Jane Thompson and James Rigby, who visited the school last year, wrote the song and lyrics reflecting the symbols engraved into the cloak’s lining.
At the top, Bunjil the eagle watches over mountains, dragons, turtles, a Sudanese shield, a cricket, spider, rooster, Buddha and a father-and-son fishing in Port Phillip – all symbols of families and cultures etched by students and indigenous artist Maree Clark.
One illustration of three trees and a cross symbolise a student’s father and sister “buried before we came here”.
“The warm protective cloak wraps all the stories together,” Thompson said.
Many of the students who created the cloak have graduated yet their successors still speak proudly of its “power” and the histories and cultures enwrapped under its fur.
