'It's time'- Michael Gallus

My name is Michael Gallus. I’m a 51-year-old primary and secondary teacher from Melbourne, Victoria with three children and a beautiful, supportive wife. I spent the last 27 years teaching and coaching sport which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed but I’m writing this piece as the current Joint Acting Principal of the Kulkarriya P-12 Community Aboriginal School on Noonkanbah Cattle Station – about 450kms east of Broome in Outback WA. How did this life changing, amazing teaching opportunity happen and why did I grasp it with two hands? Let me explain…

Life can be such an inspiring journey if you have the courage to leave your comfort zone and experience the unique. As I lay in bed isolating in Melbourne, recovering from my second bout of Covid-19 at the end of 2 years of hard lockdowns, I was reflecting on my life and teaching career as an advert floated through my Facebook feed for teaching opportunities across outback WA, NT and QLD.

I always had a dream to teach in a remote aboriginal community and wanted to reinvigorate my passion for the best job in the world in a more relaxed and chilled country/non city teaching environment. I had already gained experience in the remote aboriginal communities of Yarrabah QLD and Elcho Island NT running volunteer Footys4all clinics – a volunteer children’s sporting charity I set up to provide sporting opportunities to children in need across Australia.

I spoke with my very understanding and supportive wife, Amanda, who agreed that I could explore this opportunity. After entering details and doing some intro interviews etc I waited for an opportunity. We were having a birthday dinner with my Mum and Dad on a Saturday night when I got a text with an opportunity in outback WA - the Kulkarriya Community School. Soon after, I was hired. A quick family farewell later, I jumped on a plane to Perth then Broome then a 5 ½ hour drive to Noonkanbah Cattle Station complete with 22,000 bullomen to Kulkarriya Community School. I could not wait to get there, to start this latest chapter of my teaching and life journey.

I’m now finishing my 4th week of this outback WA teaching adventure, it’s everything I could have wished for…the life changing educational experience I had hoped for. Being immersed in such an outback remote aboriginal working cattle station community and becoming part of a committed and passionate teaching team educating the energetic and happy aboriginal children of Noonkanbah is everything I wished for.

The Noonkanbah community has been so welcoming to me from the first moment I arrived, driving around lost in the dark. It’s been an amazing, unique opportunity to learn about aboriginal culture and life at the ground level from generations of aboriginal community members. A key part of teaching remote is about creating a relationship between the community and the school, to do this you must immerse yourself in the community. I did this through the power of sport and volunteering to coach the Noonkanbah Blues women’s AFL team. I also go to church each Sunday morning and help out within the community.

My adventure in the WA outback got even better as my teaching position was upgraded to joint acting principal. I now organise breakfast and lunch times, take a whole school morning sport session, fix Wi-Fi and hot water services, help to re-register the school, organise and run athletics day, pay accounts, clean toilets, chase the pesky brolga out of the playground, interview/hire staff and meet and present to the school board. Best of all though, I’m preparing and organising for ten of the senior students to travel to Perth via bus and plane, many for the first time, for a school camp. Welcome to remote outback teaching where you must expect the unexpected but roll with it and you’ll enjoy your greatest teaching and life adventure ever.

What have I learnt? Better to ask what I haven’t learnt. Teaching in a remote outback aboriginal community is all about problem solving, regularly in ‘creative’ ways! One thing that you do have is passionate, committed, and enthusiastic staff and community members who are always willing to help. You need to have the patience of a saint and an understanding that things move very slowly in the outback, but you’ll gain joy from teaching aboriginal students who are so resilient, happy, enthusiastic and willing to learn. I learnt that the only constant in remote outback communities is change. You learn exactly who you are and what your real strengths are. The greatest advice I can give is that life is too short to not give it a crack! I’m so glad I did.