Our Story

I am a curious learner of Garrang Wilam Primary School. I will show leadership by being kind, respectful of others and a good listener. I will represent our School Values in the classroom and the community by caring for our environment, encouraging others, and doing my best to grow.

Our story is unique

It is about country and land, our first peoples, white settlement, the Western volcanic plains and the diverse cultures that now reside on this land. The symbol that represents us should reflect who we are now and the journey we have travelled to get here; a connection between our first peoples and your children. 

Deanne Gilson (a proud Wadawurrung woman and an award-winning visual artist) was commissioned to create an image that represented four elements:

  • we are all different, 
  • we have our own unique strengths,
  • we are all part of something bigger than ourselves,
  • but also held the vibrant colours of the Western Volcanic Plains and had a ‘bush tucker’ element to it. 

The colours chosen are reminiscent of the native grasslands and eucalyptus trees that were there and have been replanted in your new school.  The larger shapes represent elders or adults and the smaller shapes students. Together they look focused on learning.  They could also be viewed as hills or mountains.  The bright gold colour represents the sun.  When you stand on the land, the flatness encapsulates you and the expanse of sky and sun makes you feel joyful. 

The story about the land in which the school is located is such an interesting one.  From what I have sourced and read, the land during white settlement was owned by the Cropley family and they grew hay and had cattle.  The farm was called MayFarm.  Mrs G Cropley, we don’t know what her first name is as we didn’t record women’s names in those days, had a school located on the farm property.  It is such a beautiful feeling to know that the land was used for educational purposes at some stage and now we have a magnificent state of the art facilities for your children to be educated in.

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