A CROWD gathered on the beach at the mouth of the Surry River in Narrawong on Thursday morning, for a dance ceremony on the sand to kick off Gundtijmara-led event centred around the importance of protecting the Southern Ocean.

‘Nyamat Yarkeen Karween’ (translated to Southern Ocean Dreaming Ceremony) event organiser Shea Rotumah said he was happy with the support on the day.

The dance ceremony was followed into the afternoon by local musical acts and speeches from himself and Gunditjmara Whale Dreaming Custodian Yaraan Couzens Bundle, who came for the day from the Warrnambool area.

“It was really good to have everyone come out,” Mr Rotumah said.

“We had a couple of speeches made about the importance of the ocean, and coastline and the rest of the Country, it's all connected pretty much.

“It was all about making sure that there's a voice still around with the wind farms and abalone farm, because it’s something we haven’t heard much on for a while now.

A lack of communication from the State Government on its impending decision on whether it will allow Yumbah Aquaculture to build a new abalone farm along Dutton Way was the catalyst for the event, Mr Rotumah said, while concerns about proposals for seismic testing, gas drilling, and offshore windfarms were also front of mind.

“It was about bringing everybody together who's a stakeholder to the sea,” he said.

“That doesn't mean whether you make your livelihood from it, it means whether you enjoy surfing on it or looking at it, or fishing in it or whatever.

“We're all going to be affected by some of these decisions coming up if we're not careful, so this is trying to sort of band together a little bit and create a bit of a movement around here.

“I’m passionate about this because there’s a lot to lose and a lot to learn in a short amount of time, so we’ve got to get the word out there.”

A notable part of the day was during the dancing ceremony, when everyone present was invited to join in the dance.

“Connection to this Country is a massive thing,” Mr Rotumah said about it.

“It might be only years here, six generations, or a whole lot longer, that doesn’t matter, they’re still going to connect and their story is also a part of the land now as well.”