Biladurang Visits Evanna and Dallas

Posted on Jul 15, 2022 By Jessica Staines

We are a mostly Wiradjuri family (I’m the only non-Indigenous family member) living on Gundungurra country.

Our entire family is also autistic or neurodivergent, so most of our mascot experiences will share how we embed an Aboriginal perspective and connect with culture with our autistic children.

The first thing we did was get out our PODD to help us remember what we call the mascot we were sent. We then gave our new friend a name & we decided on “Biladurang” which is the Wiradjuri word for Platypus. We got out our map and located Gundungurra country on it.

Biladurang joined us on our outing to experience “Connection” which is currently on exhibition at the National Museum in Canberra.

I have been waiting impatiently for this to open and with everyone in our family having sensory seeking needs to regulate, it’s like the exhibition was made for us.

The art, music, photography & dance combination had the kids absolutely enchanted. Evanna was able to crawl around the ground displays & explore the exhibition with another baby, while Dallas & Biladurang chilled out on one of the giant cushions.

Dallas was really excited to see a display on the Emu in the Sky constellation as this is something he’s been exploring recently.

He also wanted to know why the language he was hearing didn’t sound like Wiradjuri & we were able to discuss the diversity of his people & that we were hearing the languages spoken in other parts of the country.

Get the resources

This gorgeous Platypus full-body Hand puppet is from the Australian Native collection and has been carefully hand crafted in partnership with wildlife experts and brought to life with meticulous attention to detail.

This platypus has been recreated with luxuriously soft faux fur covering its body, textured fabric with expert airbrush shading perfectly capturing the contours of the platypus’s bill and webbed feet.

This platypus’s beautiful eyes are showcased with hand trimmed light fabric inserts, making her simply irresistible as the perfect gift for friends, family or even yourself!