Last week, Harmony celebrations all over Australia reminded us that everyone is different, everyone belongs and we all bring something unique to our communities.

Harmony Week is about all Australians being united by a set of core Australian values, regardless of cultural, socio-economic, or linguistic background. It is not only a week to celebrate Australia’s multiculturalism, but also to foster inclusiveness, respect, diversity and a sense of community.

These core values of Harmony Day are synonymous with the ethos of Neighbourhood Houses and in Buloke, Birchip and Sea Lake, Neighbourhood Houses acknowledge Harmony Day with celebrations involving multi-cultural food.

In Birchip on Tuesday, March 21, Harmony and World Down Syndrome Day, the Birchip Neighbourhood House hosted at afternoon tea at O’Donnell’s Café. A delectable array of food from around the world was enjoyed by attendees and the students en route to the Birchip Youth Room after school.

There was Indian samosas, patties and noodles, Asian style duck pancakes and dumplings, Japanese sushi and edamame, Australian party pies, cheese and vegemite shapes, meringues and Tim-Tams, Thai style bubble tea and Belgian waffles, all made by Claire Cook, Maria Moss, Rainey Daniels, Bony Varghese, Sharp’s bakery, and popular Australian producer Arnott’s.

Simone Christie, manager of the Birchip Neighbourhood House, said “Our cultural diversity and our differences are one of our greatest strengths in our small community. It is at the heart of who we are and essential to ensure our community prospers. It also makes it a more interesting and vibrant place to live”.

In Australia, nearly half (49 per cent) of our residents were born overseas or have at least one parent who was. We identify with over 300 ancestries and since 1945, more than 7.5 million people have migrated to Australia.

Simone said “skilled migration has become integral to fulfilling many staff shortages in our region, particularly in the health and agriculture sectors and every one of those newly arrived community members, who has come to Birchip to work and live, has brought some of their own unique cultural and religious traditions and collectively, they have all enriched our community”.

In the latest census, 16% of Birchip’s population’s country of birth was outside of Australia, with the highest responses being people from India, New Zealand, Philippines, and Nigeria. A further 15% of the population had one or both parents born overseas.

Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world, Harmony Day was a great opportunity to pay homage to all of our community members and the quirks, talents, foibles, and individual characteristics they all add to the colourful tapestry of Birchip.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 28 March 2023.