In short:
Ceduna’s third annual Yabaardu festival was nearly derailed by wild weather.
The event gave a platform to emerging local musicians alongside big names Dan Sultan and Barkaa.
What’s next?
The event continues to provide local employment opportunities and tourism benefits for the community.
Relocating to a pub isn’t the ideal backup plan for a major outdoor music festival, but Ceduna is a town where resilience is part of its story.
Yabaardu, a far west coast Indigenous word meaning “all or everyone coming together”, has been the town’s annual festival since 2022.
The event has been a celebration of music and culture in a remote area of South Australia often cast in a negative light.
The third instalment last week faced wild weather with winds up to 150 kph battering South Australia, bringing trees down and causing power outages.
It resulted in ARIA-winning artist Dan Sultan doing an intimate gig at the Ceduna Hotel instead of an open-air stage to 2,000 punters.
Balya Productions founder and Yabaardu creator, Letisha Ackland, said she didn’t think she would ever have Dan Sultan perform in the front bar of the Ceduna pub.
“That put the smiles on people’s faces,” she said.
“I don’t think I’ve seen the front bar of the pub that packed in years, so it was really great for community to come together in a space that was indoors and safe.”
Coming together
The festival came after six months of heightened scrutiny on Ceduna where alcohol-related social issues caused an outcry from some members of the community.
Headline acts Barkaa, Kobie Dee and Sultan brought Indigenous musical excellence to a town that usually had limited access to major performers.
Ceduna musician Charlotte Harre-Temby, 16, said the chance to perform on the same stage as those big names was a special moment.
“I loved it so much,” she said.
“Meeting Barkaa, she has showed me that being Indigenous, I can be proud of my culture and not feel shame about it.”
Empowering Ceduna’s youth
Ceduna Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Wayne Miller said Yabaardu’s central mission was to help young people see opportunities in the arts.
“That’s the whole reason we started this festival, one to bring everyone together and enjoy the day, but two to showcase the opportunities for locals,” he said.
“They see people like King Stingray last year and Barkaa and Dan Sultan playing, and it only takes one or two of those to get inspired by it and turn it into a dream of their own and maybe they can be the next superstar of this region.”
The community-run event employed local sound technicians, stage crew and food businesses, with representatives from the Country Fire Service, South Australia Police, health organisations, and barista and barber training also on site speaking about education pathways and job opportunities.
Profits from the hotel have been going back into the community’s pocket, with up to $200,000 donated back into town each year.
Community first
That ethos was also central to Ms Ackland’s work at Yabaardu.
“Everyone is literally within SA, from stage crew from Port Lincoln, sound guys from Port Augusta, so a lot of the local businesses that come over to be part of Yabaardu is very inclusive, it’s very important to me,” she said.
“A lot of the accommodation in town was booked out, and we had to book a charter flight to get the artists there so people didn’t miss out on flights.”
Ms Ackland said seeing home-grown Ceduna talents on the stage made all the hard work worth it – with Charlotte Harre-Temby and Shaun Miller representing Ceduna and rappers A.Ware & Jusst hailing from Port Lincoln.
“Those moments are quite special, when people play their first gig at a grassroots festival, that’s a really proud moment for me,” she said.
“Respect to my community for coming out and supporting and showing up and keeping the fire burning.”
In recognition of her work with Yabaardu, the proud Wirangu, Kokatha, and Mirning woman from Ceduna was recently recognised with 2024 NAIDOC SA person of the year award.
