To  “have a yarn” meaning to “have a chat” has been a part of Australian slang for a long time. Put very simply, Yarning is about building respectful relationships.

~ Greg Dodge

What is a Yarn Up, you ask?


“Let’s get in and have a good Yarn Up“, says Uncle Alan C. Parsons to us regularly.

We are looking for writers and creative people who can share a good yarn with each other. To “Yarn Up” is also a slang word used by our Australian First Nations people.

The use of a yarning circle (or dialogue circle) is an important process within Aboriginal culture and Torres Strait Islander culture. A yarning circle is somewhere stories and knowledge can be shared in a relaxed and comfortable place. The yarning circle has been used by Indigenous peoples from around the world for centuries to learn from a collective group, build respectful relationships, and to preserve and pass on cultural knowledge. The articles below are all focussed on stories, poems and a range of medium (film, stories etc) to help us build up our respect by having a Yarn Up with one another in a respectful Australian and Homo Sapien way. We would love your contribution in writing or poems that are about your experiences, thoughts and ideas to a Healing and Unification for all Australians. Use this as a free educational resource, or engage with us by yarning with your comments at the bottom of each article. If you would like to creative collaborate or contribute with a Yarn Up, please contact us here.

The Stories We Share

By Greg Dodge
We would love if you can share your stories with us about meeting Australians (from a different world) who now share this country. They say countries are just many stories being shared – be a part of this here. Bring us together through these shared stories. Being a descendant from a sixth generation convict, Charlotte…
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‘Always Was, Always Will Be, Aboriginal Land’ – Written and Performed by Getano Bann.

By Greg Dodge
Getano Bann – Singer, Song Writer, Story Teller, Registered Music Therapist GETANO was raised on the banks of the Pioneer River in his home town of Mackay, North Queensland, Australia. Music, dance, storytelling and humour were an influential and integral part of his childhood, growing up in an extended Torres Strait Islander Family. “My Father…
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What is Knowledge Exchange?

By Greg Dodge
For many people of Australia, apart from the First Peoples (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders), have arrived from the many diverse cultural places and with deep historical narratives. Australia today is a vibrant, INTERCULTURAL country. We are home to the world’s oldest continuous cultures, as well as Australians who identify with more than 270 ancestries….
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Some books worth reading (Pt.1)

By Greg Dodge
We are going to compile a list of recommended books and films. We would love for your input and suggestions, so we can compile a definitive list here on our site. Please assist us by contacting us here Contradicts the conventional wisdom that native peoples were primitive hunter-gatherers History has portrayed Australia’s First Peoples, the…
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Aussie Fifty Dollar Note

By Greg Dodge
Poem written by Greg Dodge There’s something very special about this true Aussie legend that I’m about to share,He led such an exceptional life, spanning ninety-five long years, for his people even today, that was very rare. He was born in South Australia of the Ngarrindjeripeople in 1872, Where he was acknowledged at such a…
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Healing the Past

By Greg Dodge
These series of videos below are worth watching to get a perspective of what has occurred to the people of this land prior to the European (Portugese, Dutch, French and British) and Asian visits. Generational trauma caused by colonisation is what we all must today have a deeper understanding (and respect) of so we can…
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