The Yirrganydji people this week celebrated the opening of what they hope is a transformative multi-purpose facility focused on delivering cultural and employment programs for the community.
Yirrganydji Collective Hub is a $2.38 million facility in Stratford, minutes from Cairns Airport and the city centre and now the first permanent home of Traditional Owner group the Dawul Wuru Aboriginal Corporation since its founding in 2010.
The new centre was entirely funded by the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and connects DWAC's entire operations – staff, vehicles, boats, equipment – creating a base for the organisation to deliver its cultural and employment programs in conjunction with communities between Cairns and Port Douglas in east-north Queensland.
An additional 50 jobs will be created in the next five years at the facility, which would deliver research, education, training and career development programs as well as job opportunities for approximately 350 people living across the area.
The Yirrganydji people will be active custodians, guardians, teachers and advocates of their own Traditional land and sea Country, driving continuous change with partnerships that achieve effective service outcomes.
The new home allowed DWAC to celebrate living and working in a culturally safe place and provide more opportunities for this generation of First Nations peoples into the future.
Dr Mercy Singleton - DWAC director of research and engagement services - said the project opening was a significant moment for Dawul Wuru and the community.
"Today we celebrate Dawul Wuru's major achievement after 15 years of operations, in securing its own place and space to action its business agenda," Dr Singleton said.
"We are sincerely committed to embracing, owning and caring for this special place, Bidkarra (Stratford).
"We celebrate with Biri, to spark and lighten up our journey with our people and partners into tomorrows' future."
An opening ceremony for the occasion included a Welcome to Country, dancing and a small fire to reflect the community's ancestors, Elders past and present, as well as DWAC staff members that had passed.
ILSC group chief executive Joe Morrison said the Yirrganydji Collective Hub was an example of community connection to Country, which ultimately represented culture, life and a way of working.
"DWAC's dedication to the hub is a true success, leading to enhanced self-determination and cultural resilience for the Yirrganydji people," he said.
"We look forward to the inspiring outcomes the hub will facilitate ... the future is bright for the Yirrganydji community."
The multi-purpose centre also gave DWAC greater capacity for future expansion and purpose-built spaces for the community, and strengthen its ability to run several of environmentally-focused programs it has partnered to help deliver, including the YirrganydjiTraditional Use of Marine Resource Agreement (TUMRA), Great Barrier Reef Legacy Forever Reef Hub, Coral Bio Bank and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures.