The name Blue Wren House was inspired by a traditional D’harawal Dreamtime story - Pokulbi: How the Dianella Came to Be.

In the story, Pokulbi is a beautiful Aboriginal woman with deep blue eyes and long dark hair. She suffers greatly at the hands of her husband, who isolates her from her family and later takes her life. Throughout her hardship, Pokulbi finds companionship in tiny blue wrens that hide in her hair, her only friends and protectors. When she is killed, the wrens avenge her death, and from the place where she and her husband lay, a plant with striking blue flowers grows, the Dianella, or Blue Flax Lily. The wrens, in turn, become symbols of hope and resilience, bringing joy to those who have been hurt or feel alone, but never appearing in the presence of anger.

This powerful Dreamtime story symbolises strength, friendship, and healing after violence, values that reflect the heart of what we do at Camden Women’s Shelter. It also inspired the naming of our two shelters:

• Blue Wren House, representing hope, community, and recovery after trauma.

• Dianella, representing rebirth, resilience, and new beginnings.

Read the full story here*.

*Reproduced with permission