The Twilight Vigil was held on 1 December 2023 last year
Zonta Vigil 2023
60 people joined us at Windy Point on Thursday 30 November for our third Vigil as part of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The evening was a perfect 20 degrees and very little wind, a beautiful clear evening and the stars were shining down upon us.
The vigil began with Sally from Seymour College playing the moving song, Amazing Grace, on the bagpipes. Sally stood on the path above the vigil site where the music filled the air and the heavens.
Julie welcomed everyone and spoke about domestic violence on a national level. She spoke of great hope for the future, especially, for women and children: to live in a world where domestic violence no longer exists. In a place where we would stand tall holding candles in celebration … not in mourning.
Our guest speaker, Catherine Hutchesson, MP spoke about the issues of DV around the globe and focused on what we need to do in our own backyards. Australia needs to focus on awareness and talk openly about these issues. We need to listen. We need to reach out. We need to continue the amazing work that Zonta is doing.
A moving Rose Ceremony was led by George who explained the symbolism of the Zonta yellow rose and called upon nine fellow Zonta members to place a rose next to the nine pairs of shoes, representing each life lost to domestic violence in South Australia during 2023. Thank you, Bev, Sue, Pam, Sharon, Lesley, Susie, Jane, Joy and Doone.
Throughout the evening, The Bandsheez played an emotional rendition of Stand by Me, and the beautiful song, The Rose.
The bagpipes closed the ceremony.
As friends wandered home, it was lovely to have Mrs Sippy present to pour us warm coffees and freshly baked donuts.
George O’Rourke
To recognise women who have died this past year from Domestic Violence.
The Seymour College Music Teacher, Iain Small, helped the club by arranging a Year12 student, Sally, to be the Piper for the Vigil.
Iain who also attended was so moved by the event and the information shared, he composed a beautiful piece of music and uploaded it to You Tube.
on You Tube type: “The Orange Ladies,” Zonta says NO to Violence – Please listen to it. Iain has gifted the piece to the Zonta Club of Adelaide Hills for are use.
He wrote…about his music
A few weeks ago, I met ‘The Orange Ladies’, from the Zonta Club of the Adelaide Hills. They were raising awareness for women and children killed by acts of Domestic Violence across Australia. Statistics from https://australianfemicidewatch.org/ show, that as of typing this out on the 19th December, 2023 there have been 81 deaths in Australia just this year (including 11 children).
Of the 70 female deaths listed, the figures show they were caused by 19 bashings, 1 asphyxiation, 2 fire, 2x poisoning, 4 shooting, and 22 stabbings….(edited), 1.5 deaths each week attributed to a result of domestic violence.
As someone who teaches at an all girls school, this number is far too high. I can’t wave a magic wand and fix it, yet I can try and help share the message via music and I encourage you to share this video, and then look up people like the Zonta club and other organisations that are out there to offer help. For those of you currently stuck in abusive relationships, I hope you can find the strength and support you need from the organisations available on offer. I’ll happily edit and include any links in this description as possible.