The meaning of ‘Laklinyeri’
Women’s & Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO Jane Scotcher shares the journey of the WCH Foundation Beach House’s Aboriginal name – Laklinyeri (Lak-in-yeri).
As part of the Beach House project the Foundation wanted to build strong connections with the Ngarrindjeri-Ramindjeri people and their country, and to acknowledge the traditional landowners where the home is located.
As part of this process we believed the inclusion of an Aboriginal name for the home was vital. Victor Harbor local, Jan Potter, introduced us to Ramindjeri man Cedric. We met with Cedric to share the concept of the Beach House – what we were creating and how it would make a difference for the families who stayed at the home.
Ngarrindjeri elder Leonie McCallum and Ramindjeri artist Cedric Varcoe at the opening of the WCH Foundation Laklinyeri Beach House.
As family is at the heart of the Beach House, we wanted a name that would pay tribute to the traditional custodians and depict the essence of what family means to them.
Cedric was committed and took our request to the Ngarrindjeri-Ramindjeri elders for discussion. The answer was, “Laklinyeri”.
Cedric Varcoe explains the meaning of Laklinyeri.
“Laklinyeri alludes to many things relating to family; close family and the larger grouping of families related through kinship, stories, songs and dance. The name denotes a sense of belonging to all of the family, your place and interconnections with each other, the land, the place and the life in that place. Laklinyeri encompasses the heart, the mind, the sense of being. Everything continues to be connected through time.”
Laklinyeri is the Aboriginal name of the Beach House.
We feel that Laklinyeri is perfect and a tribute to not only the people who use the home but also to the Ngarrindjeri-Ramindjeri people who have so warmly welcomed us to their land. From now on the home will officially be known as the WCH Foundation Laklinyeri Beach House.