From the Bush to Beersheba

In remote indigenous communities getting teens to stay in school is hard. In the community of Ntaria/Hermannsburg they had found a way. Horses – they’re everywhere out there, and have always been a part of community life – if the school could find a gifted horseman to create a riding program within the school, then the students just might come back. It worked, and attendance began to grow, and grow.

The program was a success – the annual Aranda Ride for Pride, which had students riding bush horses for 6 days from Ntaria to Alice Springs, then, in full Light Horse Regiment uniform, riding in the Anzac Day parade through the streets, gave the older students something to work towards, and the younger students something to aim for when they reached high school.

Over the years there were uplifting successes, and harrowing tragedies – all reflecting the immense potential in the young people and the immense challenges they face.

Finally, there is the challenge of bureaucracy.

A story about black and white members of a remote community working together for a better future for the young people of that community – and how it worked. A story about acknowledging and honouring the forgotten and disrespected indigenous men who fought for this country in a foreign war a century ago. A story about triumphs and tragedies, that captures the crisis in communities in remote and regional Australia. And a story, ultimately, about the failure of bureaucracy.

I want viewers to come to better understand the problems facing young people in remote and regional indigenous communities, and to come to understand what it takes for an outsider to be accepted and respected in at least one of those communities. I hope film participants come to fully appreciate what they achieved over the years of the production. I hope the film generates conversations in the wider community about how education works in the bush – very differently to the main coastal cities – which I hope leads to change the way success in education is judged. Finally, part of the purpose of the annual Aranda Ride for Pride was to show respect for and raise awareness of the indigenous servicemen of World War 1 who were ignored and disrespected in their lives after the war – I hope the respecting and the awareness continues.

The Australian Light Horse Association has been very supportive of the Aranda Ride for Pride, and to support some of the young indigenous riders in their quest to travel to Israel for the centenary of the Light Horse Regiments’ Charge of Beersheba. A companion documentary, The Light Horse Century, focussed on the Australian Light Horse Association tour of the Middle East for the centenary of the Charge of Beersheba (which includes sequences with the young indigenous riders) has been recently edited, and is soon to be distributed publicly.

My hope is that viewers’ understanding of the issues presented will be significantly enhanced and will lead to pressure being applied to politicians and other bodies to make changes to the way education is delivered and it’s success measured. I hope viewers will recommend the film to their social groups, and even, at least within Australia, be moved to reach out more to different communities and to build more relationships and connections between themselves and those communities.