“I think missing out on knowing other Islanders in my early years is why to this day I’m over-enthusiastic when meeting other Islanders. Unless you’ve experienced this kind of cultural isolation, you won’t understand my excitement levels now, and how I get so emotional about Pacific Island Playgroup!”

Shining Light on Cultural Identity in the Early Years and Beyond

Kat Fox is passionate about bringing the language and understanding of home, the culture where she hails from, to light. To sing traditional songs, share stories, keep the lineage of her ancestors woven through the generations that follow- and for those who are to come.

Growing up, Kat Fox felt a distance from her cultural identity within local spaces but always felt it within. The importance of family and belonging has been carried with Kat through life and now she shares that with families, at playgroup and within early years spaces.

Kat recently returned from a trip to Fiji, taken with her husband and son. She connected with a few of her 31 cousins (she is one of 33 grandkids) and her son got to meet 13 little second cousins (he is one of 31 great grandchildren).

“My son absolutely loved it. There was initially a language barrier for the little ones as they spoke only Fijian and my son only knows English but the language of play is universal!”

Kat recognises the power of play and the has experienced the power of playgroup, connecting families, ideas, traditions and indeed belonging, bringing a sense identity out of the dappled shade, and into the light.

We caught up with Kat to hear her insights, learning more about her work, culture and life.

You grew up in a regional area. Where was this and what was your experience like?

I grew up in Portland, South-West Victoria, past Port Fairy and fairly close to the South Australia border. It was a very small community and we knew half the town. My primary school was one-stream which is very different to the schools near me now which are six-stream - that’s almost more grade six students than my entire school!

I grew up spending lots of time at the beach, at home on our little hobby farm or at my friend’s big sheep and potato farm riding motorbikes and driving ‘paddock bombs’. We would be outside from breakfast until dinner, and even then dinner was often a barbeque outside followed by camping out in the paddocks in summer. In winter it was bonfires and toasting marshmallows. There was lots of exploring, nature play, sand, dirt and mud.

I had such a wonderful childhood in a lovely rural community, but what was missing was people who looked like me, people who spoke my mother’s language and understood her culture. I was around 10 when I remember meeting another Fijian family from the next town and making friends with their daughter who is like a little cousin to me.

I think missing out on knowing other Islanders in my early years is why to this day I’m over-enthusiastic when meeting other Islanders. Unless you’ve experienced this kind of cultural isolation, you won’t understand my excitement levels now, and how I get so emotional about Pacific Island Playgroup!

How do you share your Fijian heritage, an invaluable part of your identity and life, with others in your local community?

At playgroup, most of the families are of Samoan heritage but our families also have links to Niue, Tonga and Kiribati. We often discuss similarities in language and culture and learn about each other’s culture together. Before I became a mother, I only knew one Fijian song. Since becoming a mother I’ve learned a few more Fijian songs to sing to, and eventually with, my son. I also share these songs in Pacific Island Playgroup and through my work for Hume Libraries in my Rhyme Time and Baby Bounce sessions.

“I explain to the families attending my library programs that some Pacific Island languages are endangered so it’s meaningful and important to share the languages with all people.”

In my English Conversation Group, another library program, family heritage, cultural similarities and differences are topics we frequently discuss as we all love to learn about each other.

You have a deep understanding of young Pacific learners and you advocate for their culture to be at the fore of their learning and life. In what ways can we hold a beacon up to keep culture shining, acknowledged and celebrated?

I think the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework provides great guidance especially in reference to the practice principles. Partnering with families to build the whole family's sense of belonging by including their culture, language, food, songs and stories, especially when the family can visit and share this in person, this is crucial to developing a child’s sense of identity. We must also do this by demonstrating our ethos of being lifelong learners who seek to learn more about, and celebrate, each other- not just for special days like Harmony Day or Fiji Day (October 10!). Of course, let those special days inspire us, but then revisit those activities, songs or stories, throughout the year to be more authentic in your practice.

Another way people can help is through advocacy such as the work Engage Pasefika does. Our founder, Anasina works tirelessly applying for grants and meeting with decision makers to advocate for her community. Through her work our community playgroup remains free, so that there is no barrier to Pasefika people accessing this vital service. Also, through Anasina’s leadership, Hume City Council partnered with us to provide free use of the community room where we meet. Hume City Council also consulted and collaborated with us on the purchase of new resources to benefit all playgroups using the community space such as multicultural dolls, books and STEAM resources. However, we’re yet to secure a grant to pay a Playgroup Leader. Anasina and I have been co-facilitating this year, sharing the un-paid role, but my son is off to school next year and financially I may need to return to work full time. Anasina is also leaving to become the first Samoan MP, replacing former leader of the Greens, Samantha Ratnam. We are thrilled for her!

For our Pacific Island Playgroup, we would love to have a Pasefika person in a paid role, advocating for our playgroup, engaging more families and delivering Pacific Island Playgroup (or Playgroups, plural!). We continue to look out for appropriate community grants and funding opportunities, as I’m sure many other playgroups do! We are thrilled Playgroup Victoria has given us this platform to discuss the importance of playgroups and hope they continue to advocate with us on this challenge. Organisations like VICSEG have paid positions for other cultural and language playgroups, but there are none for Pacific Islanders anywhere in Melbourne. If you have the capacity to assist us, please contact me.

You volunteer your time at the only Pasifika Playgroup in the North. What does this bring to your life? What does it mean to you?

Initially I was attending playgroup as a mother with my son to meet other Pasifika families and to connect with, build and celebrate our cultural identity in a culturally safe space. I’m still attending with my son, but now have a dual responsibility as a mother and also as a leader, which can be very challenging at times! I’m sure many of you experienced those kinds of demands during Covid lockdowns and working from home! But those challenges I experience, when I have a four-year-old who just wants me to be present and play with him but I also want to socialise with other adults, or I need to set-up an activity, or prepare the morning tea - those tricky periods are also when you are reminded of the importance of playgroup and why we are there. It’s all a balance, he’s the most important thing to me and why we go to playgroup but it’s also an important opportunity to show him how to help others, to demonstrate responsibility and give him appropriate responsibilities such as choosing some toys and setting them up. Playgroup also helps him to learn patience and sharing, even sharing his mother’s attention as he doesn’t have siblings.

My son was 12 weeks old when Covid-19 came to Australia and the fear and lockdowns commenced. The isolation we all went through was horrible, as a new mother I had no parents group, my regional Queensland hospital did not provide that service regardless of Covid. There were no library programs to meet other mums or dads and of course there was no playgroup. I was so worried about my child’s social development.

I think I went through a period of grief and guilt for those early months and years where we missed so many social and play opportunities I had looked forward to as a new mother. Things like having friends come over to meet him, having strangers admire your new-born, taking him to Baby Bounce at the library, taking him to swimming lessons, just packing the pram and heading to the shops for some “me time” while he slept. We missed parties, weddings and trips to introduce our baby to friends and family. We got to do those things a handful of times compared to what we thought our life with our baby would be like. We missed out on a lot but we’re making up for it now with Pacific Island Playgroup!

It’s our social party time, we meet with lots of friends, we sing, make music and dance, we play. My son and I call it “Mumma Monday” and he’s gone from clinging to me and crying when the group would sing his name as part of our welcome song to confidently singing with his friends loudly and proudly in Pasifika languages.

“Playgroup enriches our lives and is something we look forward to every week.”

What kind of things inspired you to pursue early years education?

I was already a qualified primary school teacher, working at Melbourne Zoo in my dream job as an Education Officer and I had responsibilities in developing the early childhood programs for a new precinct at the zoo. We participated in professional learning with Dr Sue Elliott who taught us about nature play, forest school and bush kindergarten. That inspired me to return to university a third time to get my early childhood teaching qualification. It paired so neatly with my environmental science (conservation ecology) degree that I had to go back. I am still paying for it now, literally, I have a huge HELP debt! But how it helps me professionally, to help children and my community, means I don’t regret it.

“I have taken Pacific Island Playgroup to my favourite local park, Woodlands Historic Park, and I have some upcoming bird-watching school holiday programs and a bush storytime launching soon.”

You are taking part in the upcoming Playgroup Conference, exploring the theme Generations of Play. What are you most looking forward to sharing with the wider playgroup audience? What are you most excited about gaining from this early years experience?

I am most looking forward to representing Engage Pasefika and Pacific Island Playgroup and sharing what it means to all the Pasifika families that attend. We want more Pasifika friends to join us so we are thrilled at the opportunity to promote our grassroots organisation and playgroup. I’m most excited to meet other playgroup members and facilitators, to trade stories, challenges, ideas and inspiration.

Kat Fox will be part of Playgroup Victoria’s Conference panel, speaking about the Evolution of Community Connections, on November 20. Learn more about the Conference here.

Learn more about Engage Pasefika

Article by Sinead Halliday