Nyumbar Aboriginal Education Brings Culture, Art & Truth to Sydney
- neighbourhoodmedia
- Jul 22, 2025
- 3 min read
Meet the Family Behind Nyumbar, the Community-Driven Aboriginal Education & Mural Group Transforming Newtown
Nyumbar is a Minjungbal word meaning teach, show, and guide - and that’s exactly what family-owned Nyumbar Education is all about.
They also paint stunning murals, like the recently completed one on the Heart Research Institute building in Eliza Street. This vividly coloured artwork is the result of Nyumbar Education Heart Research Institute teaming up as part of the Inner West Council’s Perfect Match program.
“This was our first time applying for the Perfect Match initiative,” says Deslyn (Dez) Marsh in an interview with Neighbourhood Media. She explains the process of designing and producing the 24-meter-long mural.
Creating the Nyumbar Aboriginal Mural
“We firstly met with the team from the Heart Research Institute (HRI), including the local Elders from the Djurali Centre. We discussed what they wanted the mural to represent. We have a little bit of local knowledge from also living on Gadigal Land. We actually created 2 draft designs for the space. We sent them over and they picked the design that is now on their building on Eliza Street Newtown.”
The design has Aboriginal elements as well as images that reference blood cells, science, and heartbeats in bold colours on a pale yellow background. It also features real handprints placed on the wall by the HRI executive team and Djurali Team.
Marsh worked with up to five other painters, including her two children, to finish the entire project in just six days.
“I think this was the biggest mural we have completed, length-wise and being outdoors,” she says.
A Collaborative Process
Apart from HRI, Nyumbar has created murals for many schools and it is always a collaborative process.
“Ninety per cent of the murals we have completed have had students and teachers contribute to the artwork. The mural doesn’t belong to us; it belongs to the wider community. When students contribute to the artwork, they also learn the meaning or the story of the artwork.”
Importance of Aboriginal Education
Education is really at the core of what Nyumbar does. Marsh had worked in education for 15 years before the pandemic hit in 2020, and she and many others were let go by her organisation. Marsh and her son decided to establish their own business, Nyumbar Education. Comprising Marsh, Isaac Bamblett, and Tyrrell Corby, Nyumbar Education provides fun, instructive, interactive programs for schools and teachers, sharing Aboriginal culture and history.
“Aboriginal history has never been taught truthfully. Unfortunately, it has all been whitewashed,” says Marsh. Their programs give teachers the confidence to teach culture and history accurately.
The feedback Nyumbar gets from students and teachers is testament to their programs, which have elicited enthusiastic responses and some very special moments.
“Every time we visit, facilitating different programs — art, music, dance, tools and weapons — kids go out of their way at the end of each session and tell us “thank you”, “we learnt so much”, “ this was so fun”. Teachers in some of our Professional Development days have shed tears.
“There was one school we attended that was a high needs school. We were facilitating a dance program. It was the end of the session, and a little girl didn’t want to leave; she was sitting there tapping her knees. She was swaying side to side and said, “More, more!” We smiled and didn’t think too much of it. The teachers had stopped in their tracks, and we didn’t know what was happening. The teacher then told us that this student was nonverbal. To this day, that moment will never leave my mind.”
Comments