First general meeting held!

Members of the first Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation Cultural Advice Committee.

The Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation’s first General Meeting was a success, with members attending both online and in person in Maylands, on Saturday 25 June 2022.

Stan Headland opened the meeting with a Welcome to Country.

The first Cultural Advice Committee (CAC) for the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation was elected by private ballot, with twelve successful candidates. The cultural advice committee is made up of Elders who consider matters relevant to culture and make decisions to promote and protect cultural interests of the Whadjuk Noongar region. Find out more about the CAC at https://whadjuknoongar.org.au/governance-structure

The female members of the cultural advice committee are: Doreen Nelson, Violet Coyne, Geri Hayden, Glenys Yarran, Dulcie Donaldson and Karen Morich.

The male members of the cultural advice committee are: Gregory Ugle, Kelvin Garlett, Terry Morich, Joseph Collard, Stan Headland and Simon Forrest.

The outgoing initial directors – Karen Garlett, Vickey Hill, Diana Ponton and Kerry-Ann Winmar– were thanked for their hard work in setting up the corporation, and were each given a gift in appreciation.  

The first elected directors – Diana Ponton, Kerri-Ann Winmar, Rosemary Walley and Vicki Hill – took up their roles at the closing of the meeting and are now busy exploring how the corporation will operate. This will include selecting expert directors, appointing a CEO, hiring staff and finding a suitable office location within the Whadjuk region.

In the chair’s report, Kerry-Ann Winmar celebrated the exciting and historic occasion, and updated members on the journey so far.

Kerry-Ann informed members that the Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation was registered with ORIC on 5 October 2021. All the necessary registrations to get charitable status, register the corporation name, and get an ABN have been completed.

The corporation also held two membership meetings and approximately 10 initial director meetings.

“We now have 410 members, which is an incredible achievement,” Kerry-Ann said.

“Thank you so much to every one of you who have joined us. The more members we have the more effective we will be in our efforts to build our a strong, sustainable, united Noongar Nation.

“The Southwest Native Title Settlement is a momentous part of our long history as Noongar people. As we all know, it has taken us many, many years for us to get to this point.

“It has taken our past Elders many more years, and some of them were not able to see this day. So, we honour them by continuing their work, to protect and respect our corporation and its potential.

“Now that regional corporations are ready to start work, we will start seeing the results of all of that time and effort.”

The Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation’s first Board of Directors. L-R: Rosemary Walley, Vicki Hill, Kerry-Ann Winmar and Diana Ponton.