Big things are happening at Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative.
This week Geelong council progressed Wathaurong’s application to rezone the site of its headquarters in North Geelong to allow for the construction of a new $43 million centre, allowing the organisation to have all its services at the one site.
Wathaurong also played host to Victorian Minister for Employment and Prevention of Family Violence Vicki Ward, who met with the organisation’s staff and board to officially open the recently installed Aboriginal Access Point and view designs of the new hub.
Since forming between 1978 and 1980, Wathaurong has provided a central point for the Indigenous community in the Geelong area, providing health, community and family services and a way for Aboriginal people to connect.
Through that time, the organisation has evolved, grown and sometimes been forced to reassess its direction.
Wathaurong chief executive Simon Flagg began his career at the co-operative in 1996 as an Aboriginal Worker trainee before embarking on a 20-year career as a public servant
Since taking up the head role in 2021 he has worked to return the organisation’s focus to community building rather than service delivery.
“Community focus is really what this organisation was created for… in the 80s Geelong wasn’t a place where you’d really know where other Aboriginal people were, or a safe place to say you’re an Aboriginal person” Mr Flagg said.
“As we evolved and grew through funding, it became more service-delivery focused. We just lost the key focus of why we were created.
“So we’ve reshaped that and refocused to being community first, service delivery second. And that has been the game changer for reconnecting to our community and getting them to come back to our organisation.”
During her visit, Ms Ward said it was fantastic to see a strong community working together to become even stronger.
“When you’ve got people who absolutely understand the strengths in the community, understand how to build on that, but also understand the challenges a community might experience, it creates that environment where things can happen easier and faster,” Ms Ward said.
“To be able to have an access point where you know you’ll be treated respectfully, safely, and be able to find your pathway is really important and it’s wonderful to see how well they’re doing it here.”
Visit wathaurong.org.au for more information on Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative and its services.
