Ed,

On Saturday 19 October I spent the morning at the Maclean High School ‘River of Learning’ exhibition, watching videos of activities and projects, admiring the artworks and exploring the archives of past activities, staff and students. 

I loved the vibrancy of the young Aboriginal students as they participated in all aspects of school life whilst incorporating and celebrating their Yaegl culture and heritage.

In the afternoon I visited the Maclean Stone Cottage museum and thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the artefacts, many of which I remember from my childhood. It is a great a keeping place of white settler history.

After visiting both exhibitions I was struck by a feeling that there is a huge empty space in the history of the area. The whole story is not being told. Perhaps the 53 Islands project can lead to a keeping place that tells all the stories of the Clarence River covering the past 60,000 years. Susan Howland, Yamba