Episode Five | Setting the record straight, making history and connecting to heart with Len Collard & Noelene Mantellato

Whadjuk Noongar Traditional Owner Leonard (Len) Collard is a Doctor of Education at Edith Cowan University, Emeritus Professor at The University of Western Australia, Adjunct Professor at the Nulungu Research Institute, The University of Notre Dame and Senior Cultural Consultant and Director of Moodjar Consultancy. Len spent his childhood speaking Noongar language in his White Gum Valley home and has made it his life’s responsibility to reclaim Noongar language and bring people together through understanding the relevance of place. Yamatji Noongar Noelene Mantellato is a Program Manager, Development Consultant and Visual Artist. Noelene spent many years in the corporate world working across education, training, community development, Aboriginal leadership and workforce development. Noelene is returning to heart work and the opportunity to reconnect to country, people and language through a role in vibrant community engagement and the process of history making reconciliation. In this fifth episode of The Ville, Lorraine Horsley chats to Len & Noelene about their roles in revealing and celebrating Noongar place names through Place Names Melville, you’ll also hear some snippets from one of the decoding sessions being undertaken as part of the project. Len & Noelene are key members of the Place Names Melville team, an important reconciliation, agreement making and truth-telling project at the City of Melville, being undertaken in partnership with Elders, the Noongar Community, Moodjar Consultancy and Community Arts Network. To find out more about Place Names Melville, visit melvillecity.com.au/placenamesmelville and Community Arts Network, Melville Phase I and Melville Phase II. To find out more about Len’s work head to moodjar.com.au or find Len on Instagram @leonardmcollard. To find out more about Noelene’s work as an artist, find Noelene on Instagram @noelene_regan_art. The Ville | Dive deep into the lives of creatives, their work and inspiration. Hosted by Lorraine Horsley and the Creative Melville team at the City of Melville. To find out more about the City of Melville, visit melvillecity.com.au