A local Aboriginal corporation has recent-ly been appointed as the Crown Land Man-ager of a government-owned property in Barton Street.
The Department of Planning and Environ-ment – Crown Lands has appointed the Ngem-ba, Ngiyampaa, Wangaaypuwan, Wayilwan Aboriginal Corporation (NNWW Aboriginal Corporation) to manage and use reserve land and buildings at the former NSW Agriculture offices in Barton Street.
“This site was previously used by the Depart-ment of Agriculture and Local Land Services but is now surplus to needs, and includes four buildings, an office space, a shed and a shade structure,” a Crown Lands spokesperson said.
“Crown Lands has added an additional re-serve use for the land for ‘Aboriginal purposes’ so that it can be managed and used by the cor-poration for the benefit of the region’s Aborigi-nal community.”
Ngiyampaa Elder and NNWW Director Auntie Elaine Ohlsen welcomed the appoint-ment of the NNWW Aboriginal Corporation as Crown Land Manager.
“The NNWW Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of our members across the Ngemba, Ngiyampaa, Wangaaypuwan, Wayilwan native title claim area is excited for this opportunity and taking on the management of this land as it will give us a site where we can effectively service our members and the Aboriginal com-munity,” Auntie Elaine said.
The Corporation has flexibility in how they may use the property, including using it for a range of cultural, social, spiritual, and econom-ic purposes or they may elect to use it for an-other purpose.
“We will discuss it with our members, but the site has potential to be used for a range of purposes such as a gathering place, for an of-fice, for conferences, and things like an art space, all of which support our right to self-determination and access to our culture,” Aunt-ie Elaine said.
The directors of the Corporation met with Crown Lands in July to discuss the property, the necessary cleaning and maintenance work required.
