Spotlight on

Building pavilions

Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 4355)

Wugularr, Northern Territory: Congratulations to Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation, winners in the prestigious 2013 National Architecture Awards announced at the end of last year. The corporation took out the inaugural ‘Nicholas Murcutt Award for Small Project Architecture’ for the Djakanimba Pavilions.

‘It’s a great honour and we’re delighted,’ said Djilpin Arts’ artistic director, Tom E Lewis.

Changing and improving lives

Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre (ICN 1881)

North Queensland: Mulungu Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre is an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation working to improve the lives of Indigenous people in and around Mareeba.

The centre was established in 1991 and incorporated under the CATSI Act in 1993.

Getting it right

Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 207)

Campbelltown, New South Wales: Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation (TAC) has been around for a long time. It incorporated in 1983 under the former Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1975 before transitioning to the CATSI Act in 2007. Over this time it has expanded into a thriving multifunctional community-controlled organisation, very much at the heart of the outer Sydney suburb of Airds.

Protecting the land, sea and animals

Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 3475)

North Queensland: The Gudjuda Reference Group Aboriginal Corporation represents the Bindal, Juru and Ngaro traditional owner groups. Their country, spanning north Queensland from the Whitsunday Islands up to Townsville, is a biodiversity treasure trove. It also takes in one of the largest and richest river catchments in Australia—the Burdekin River.

Getting dry

Umoona Tjutagku Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 7460)

Coober Pedy, South Australia: While it may have begun as a relatively small community health unit Umoona Tjutagku Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (UTHSAC) is today a large, growing concern looking after the social and medical needs of local Aboriginal people.

North meets south in fishy business

Aminjarrinja Enterprises Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 4688)

Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory: Aminjarrinja Enterprises Aboriginal Corporation—otherwise known as AEAC—couldn’t believe its luck when Tasmanian Seafoods, a large commercial company, expressed interest in a business partnership. ‘A thriving commercial fishing industry is exactly what we need up here,’ says AEAC director Donald Mamarika. ‘It was very exciting to be approached by Tasmanian Seafoods and we have totally embraced being in business together.’

Art and healing

Murri Girls into Art Indigenous Corporation (ICN 7536)

Rockhampton, Queensland: It’s not surprising that the exhibition that opened at the Rockhampton Art Gallery a couple of weeks ago (12 July) continues to attract attention. The artworks, made of silk and dyed in a Japanese Shibori style, are high quality, bold and culturally significant.

Attendance rates soar at Balgo school

Balgo is an Aboriginal community in the East Kimberley in Western Australia with a population of between 300 and 500 people, depending on the time of year.

The Wirrimanu Aboriginal Corporation (WAC) is a community organisation that owns the Balgo shop and also provides community and municipal services. It currently employs around 45 people.

Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation

Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation was established in 1992 after much hard work by local elders and the community. It was originally the name of one of the many missions established in Victoria in the late 1800s. Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation has had a rich and varied history (see their website at www.ramahyuck.org).

Bula'bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation

From fibre art to paintings depicting traditional stories—internationally renowned Bula’bula Arts Aboriginal Corporation (BAAC) paints a bright future for the local Indigenous Ramingining community and the Bula’bula arts centre.

The Bula’bula arts centre was erected in typical tropical elevation style of the Ramingining community in Central Arnhem Land, 400 kilometres east of Darwin. The rustic building sits comfortably on stilts, nestled among the native trees of the remote red kangaroo country.