History Talk

On 28 April 2024, SWTA held its first event, a talk by local historian and archivist, Michael Organ. While at Wollongong University, in the 1990s Michael gathered together an extensive collection of original documents about the Aboriginal people of the Illawarra and South Coast from 1779 – 1900, which he published in 2 books.

Michael shared that information with the local community to help “fill in the gaps” about what happened in the Shoalhaven during the early period of first contact and colonisation.

There were two sessions: one for the local Aboriginal community, and another after lunch for the general community. Both were facilitated by Uncle Gerry Moore.

Reflections on the Referendum

The Shoalhaven Walking Together Alliance ran a successful event at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on 12 October 2024 to mark the first anniversary of the Referendum on a Voice to Parliament. Over 200 people attended. The event was hosted by local Elder, Uncle Gerry Moore, OAM, a SWTA committee member. The discussion was moderated by SBS presenter, John Paul-Janke, in conversation with the following panellists: Pat Anderson, AO, and Geoff Scott from the Uluru Dialogue, and Cleone Wellington from Waminda.

Photos Taken by Peter Izzard from South Coast Photographic

Thinking about 26 January

It’s not a day of celebration for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because it celebrates the day their land was invaded, and the beginning of their dispossession of the land they had lived on and cared for, for over 65,000 years.On 26 January SWTA members will be at Huskisson, chatting to people and asking them to think more about the impact of the day.