When proud Ngarrindjeri and Wayilwan man Peter Mackay first enrolled in a TAFE language course in Warren, he did not know it would grow into a community movement, culminating in local Indigenous children writing and recording an album in Wayilwan language.

“I didn’t know a single word of the language when I started the course,” Mr Mackay said.

“Neither did my mother, my aunties or my uncles, because back in their day, if they were taught language, they risked being removed from their families.

"So we all grew up without it.”

That loss sparked Mackay’s determination to reclaim and preserve Wayilwan.

Over three years, with the guidance of respected teacher and linguist Aunty Beth Wright, the group began building a vocabulary.

“Aunty Beth found 100 words to start with, then worked up to 700.

"She speaks seven languages and works with 26 communities, she’s been amazing,” Mr Mackay said.

From TAFE classroom to community hub

The original TAFE course finished, but Mr Mackay and others were determined not to let the progress end there.

“I was trying to figure out, how do we keep the language going and not lose it again?

"Then all of a sudden, this old building popped up, it was an old Mechanics Institute and pretty run down, but it was donated to us,” he said.

That space became the home of Warraan Widji Arts.

Together with colleagues Karlene Irving and Phyllis Oates, Mr Mackay began running cultural programs for local children after school.

“We had the kids come down every afternoon for an hour or two.

"We’d do dance, language and music,” Mr Mackay said.

Mr Irving’s brother, a musician, volunteered his time to teach the children to play guitar and sing.

“He came out on his own time and taught the kids music.

"They picked it up so quick and within two or three years they were writing songs,” Mr Mackay said.

Writing an Album in Wayilwan

The children’s confidence and skills grew, and soon the group had a body of songs.

“We just kept writing and adding.

"Now we’ve got about 10 songs in language,” Mackay said.

A driving force behind Warraan Widji Arts, Peter Mackay is also a youth worker and Aboriginal Education Officer at the local school.

Seven children were directly involved in recording the album, while 16 kids make up the broader Warraan Widji Arts group.

The songs reflect both language and place, with deep ties to Warren and its history.

“A lot of the songs are made up from the kids’ input.

"Some are about Warren, where we all grew up and about the old mission where our families lived,” Mr Mackay said.

The album was launched in the last week of September, with strong community support.

Pre-orders have already been taken, with more information available on the Warraan Widji Arts Facebook page and website.

For Mr Mackay, the recording is just one step in a bigger cultural revival.

“We’re still learning all the time, even me," he said.

"The kids have their input into the songs and dances.

"There’s no one boss, we all work together.

"If something doesn’t work, we try something else."

The sky is the limit!

The project is already opening doors.

The children’s group, known as the Jirri Ones, will perform in Sydney during Aboriginal Languages Week in October, while Mr Mackay’s senior band, The Dreaming Drifters, continues to support their efforts.

“Most of the kids are related somehow," Mr Mackay said.

"We all share those connections to family, to Warren, and to country, that’s what makes it powerful."

For Mr Mackay, the journey has been as personal as it is communal.

Born in Warren, he left as a teenager but eventually returned.

“It’s still hard to believe everything just happened like this,” he said.

He credits Aunty Beth Wright for laying the foundation.

“She’s always been part of what we do.

Without her, this wouldn’t have been possible,” he said.

“We just want to keep going with the flow.

"This is about making sure Wayilwan is never lost again.”