Twin Hill Station, 130kms south-west of Darwin, Northern Territory: Twin Hill Station is a successful Indigenous cattle business owned and run by its members who are the traditional owners, the Mak Mak Marranunggu of the Delissaville, Wagait, Larrakia Aboriginal Land Trust. The station comprises 375 square kilometres of land on the edge of Litchfield National Park, an hour south-west of Darwin.
Cairns, Qld: Nine years ago, when he was 20, Jesse Martin sat down in a Cairns shopping centre with an officer from ORIC and incorporated the Streets Movement Indigenous Corporation (TSM). He was relaxed, confident and dressed like most young people in Cairns at the time—baseball cap backwards and baggy rapper-style clothes.
Move forward ten years and Jesse is now as comfortable in a suit and the corporate boardrooms of Sydney as he is in a gym. And now he is taking his model of helping young people doing it tough around Australia and the world.
Taree, New South Wales: A few months ago, Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre opened the doors to a stunning new building that operates as a hub for community wellbeing. It was the culmination of a long-held dream of the members and directors to join up its buildings and revamp the old baby health clinic in a way that respected its heritage value.
Biripi Clinic and its welcoming front door
Woolloongabba, Queensland: Few would disagree that the work Link-Up (QLD) carries out is of the highest importance. For more than 30 years the corporation has helped people to connect with relatives that were lost to them because of past Australian Government policies. Up to the 1970s, state and national government practices saw Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children removed from their families and communities.
Derby, Western Austraila: Garl Garl Walbu Alcohol Association Aboriginal Corporation was incorporated in 1988 to contribute to policy and research about alcohol and drug misuse and related problems among Aboriginal people in the Kimberley—and to care for people affected. The corporation is based in Derby, in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia—a long way from Perth and Darwin.
One of the corporation’s directors, Nola D’Antoine, describes how problematic alcohol and drugs are for this community:
Frankston South, Melbourne:
Welcome to Bunurong country, land of our ancestors, land of the Kulin.
These are the words of respected Bunurong elder, Chris West, as he welcomes visitors to Bunurong country, which takes in much of Melbourne.
Chittaway Bay, New South Wales central coast: Founded in 1994, The Glen, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre for men run by Ngaimpe Aboriginal Corporation, is now in its third decade of saving lives and nurturing spirits. Every year, its ‘business’ strengthens. How do they do it? And is it significant that all the board members of Ngaimpe Aboriginal Corporation are women? The short answer is: perhaps. But what definitely drives the success of this corporation is the very singular purpose shared by the board, the CEO and the staff.
Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands, South Australia: In 2012, a group of Aboriginal traditional healers—ngangkaṟi—from the APY lands came together with a mission to strengthen traditional practices and medicines, and a vision for a complementary, ‘two-way’ healthcare system.
Coen, Queensland: The Lama Lama traditional owners living in Coen and Port Stewart are the driving force behind Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation. Since they established this homeland-based, not-for-profit organisation in 2009, Yintjingga has grown in significance and reputation.
‘Our aim is to improve the social, cultural, and environmental well-being of our Lama Lama community,’ says Gavin Bassani, traditional owner, Ops Manager and chair of Yintjingga Aboriginal Corporation. ‘We’re also interested in economic development.’
Port Macquarie, New South Wales: In June 2016 Werin Aboriginal Corporation medical centre celebrated 10 years serving the Port Macquarie–Hastings area as well as independence from its auspice arrangement.
Over this time the community-controlled, not-for-profit medical centre has consistently provided quality healthcare services. ‘We’re a close-knit team and we do the very best we can for our patients and clients,’ said the corporation’s secretary, Warren Mason.
