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.
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.
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.
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.’
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.
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 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).
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.
Since the late seventies, Aunty Rose Richards welcomed sick Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children into her far north Queensland home. Today 25 years on, Mookai Rosie Bi-Byan (Aunty Rosie’s Place) is Australia’s first Indigenous community-controlled organisation with twelve beds for women during childbirth.
The organisation was incorporated with ORIC on 10 September 1986 and has successfully seen hundreds of women and children pass through the health centre doors since 1983.
The preservation and documenting of culture have turned into a worthwhile and successful venture for the Yindjibarndi people in Australia’s northwest.
The Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation is located at Roeburne, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The corporation was registered in 2000 as a not-for-profit Indigenous community organisation. Over the past nine years it has developed a wide-ranging program of documenting, recording and preserving Yindjibarndi stories and culture, resulting in a living cultural resource and employment opportunities for locals.
