Beyond Empathy’s Jessica Duncan, before introducing the students, said she pitched the idea in November 2015 and with the help of the community it was a great success. “It took a while for the children to warm up to Simon (Mellor- singer/songwriter) and get confident enough to get up, sing and dance but it’s such a successful project and has been one of my favourites,” she said.

The students, with the help of Simon, sung five in traditional Gamilarray language, then recorded, learnt dances and on Wednesday performed them. Each attendee received a copy of the CD and were told to share the piece of culture with their family. “This project had so much help from everyone and we hope you all enjoy the CD. I know my family will treasure this and I know your hearts will melt when you hear the kids sing,” she said.

The strong cultural focus connected Kiah children to their traditional Elder who used to use song and dance regularly.