NSW Premier Chris Minns met with Wagga’s Indigenous leaders, including Aunty Cheryl Penrith, about the success of the Wollundry Dreaming cultural hub. Photo: Jarryd Rowley.
Wagga’s Indigenous leaders from the Wollundry Dreaming First Nations cultural hub are hopeful the NSW Government will learn from the centre’s success.
Wollundry Dreaming is a Wiradjuri-led cultural venue in the centre of Wagga Wagga and looks to bring arts, culture and community together in programs that work towards building creative, stronger and resilient communities, particularly among young First Nations people.
The hub, near the Civic Theatre, has been recognised on numerous occasions for its ongoing support for the region’s Indigenous young people, providing a safe space to gather and offering them educational and other opportunities.
NSW Premier Chris Minns visited the venue last week, hearing its leaders share stories and speak about incentives run by the centre.
Visual Dreaming founder Leanne Sanders said the sitdown with the Premier was an important one and she hoped other communities around NSW could learn from the work done by her organisation, which runs Wollundry Dreaming.
“There is a limitation from the government not seeing the value in grassroots Aboriginal organisations, no matter what community they’re in, whether that be Wagga or anywhere else,” she said.
“Local voices that are on the ground and the government really should be listening and walking with them and supporting them in the way that suits them, not the way the government wants them to be.
“The voice of our young people is important and needs to be heard. They’re the ones who are going to have to live with all of the decisions that are made, and it’s really important that they have some input into what their future might look like.
“We’re a family here and we’re all about passing our culture to our young people and teaching them the practice of Yindyamarra, which is all about respect.”
After his visit, Mr Minns said he had taken a lot on board from the success of the centre, something he hoped to share with the rest of the state.
“It’s great to be on Wiradjuri land this morning and to speak to Leanne Sanders and Aunty Cheryl Penrith, as well as teams from DCJ [Department of Community and Justice] working incredibly hard on the next generation coming through and investing in them,” he said.
“We often look at a lot of these programs in terms of dollars and cents, but the truth of the matter is, we need people. We need people who are civic-minded, empathetic, care about the next generation and approach their job with love.
“We need wonderful people on the ground who are prepared to devote their professional lives to young people. And I just want to pay tribute to the people in that room, what a great group of people.
“I was told this initiative was really pushed by a man named Uncle James Ingram, who was an Elder who passed away last year, and his vision was to engage with love in the next generation of young Indigenous people and let them know that there’s no barrier, no roof, to their ambition.
“I love that message, and I’ll take that away with me to Sydney and the rest of my travels.”
