Coomaditchie wins Organisation of the Year at the Local Government Regional NAIDOC Awards for 2023

The Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation is an Aboriginal organisation dedicated to helping young Aboriginal people connect with their traditional culture and heritage. Among their initiatives is the volunteer-run Coomaditchie Community Garden, which brings together Coomaditchie Elders and community members to grow food and share skills in local food production. The initiative has received funding for soil, plants, gardening equipment and other materials that will scale up the production of vegetables and bushtucker, and that will help transform it into a community gathering space.

More than 700 people gathered for the opening of Coomaditchie: The Art of Place at Wollongong Art Gallery on Saturday, March 25. Guest curated by Tess Allas with assistance from Alinta Maguire, Coomaditchie showcases newly commissioned works led by senior artists Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas.

A beautiful new exhibition celebrating the First Nations people of the region comes equipped with a "children's room", making art more kid-friendly. The newly opened exhibition features commissioned works, led by senior artists Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas, and include the gallery's outdoor panels which tell the environmental stories of Coomaditchie Lagoon.

At the launch of the final Evaluation Report of the Ngaramura Program on Tuesday 19 July 2022., the Ngarruwan Ngadju First Peoples Health and Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Wollongong and the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation deemed the program a success.

The Flame visited Aunties Narelle Thomas and Lorraine Brown, two well-known elders, in their studio gallery at Kemblawarra Community Hall to ask them what NAIDOC means to them, and what it can mean to others.

When the University of Wollongong community comes together this week to celebrate the achievements of thousands of students, the graduation ceremonies will look and feel different than in years past.At the heart of the changes is a new artwork by Aboriginal artists Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narel le Thomas of Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation in Warrawong.

A beautiful artwork titled 'Cultural Healing' donated by the Coomaditchie Aboriginal Corporation will be woven throughout the 2022 UOW Graduation ceremony and represented on everything from the commemorative graduation booklets, through to the flags flying high outside of the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The Illawarra Art Trail includes up-and-coming artists who are exhibiting their works for the first time, alongside established and revered artists like Uncle Vic Chapman and Aunty Lorraine Brown.

A team of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal researchers from the University of Sydney’s Research Centre for Children & Families have launched a new report which sheds light on these experiences and on some unexpected positives that emerged for Aboriginal communities in New South Wales.

A new report by the University of Sydney Research Centre for Children & Families sheds light on stories of both hardship and resilience during pandemic lockdowns.

Aboriginal history and culture is being celebrated all this week at Koonawarra Public School. Coomaditchie Elders including Aunty Lorraine Brown dropped by the school on Wednesday to run various art workshops for the eager students.

The vibrant blue, white, green and brown colours of a stunning new canvas called "Woolungah" now take centre stage in the main foyer of Wollongong Private Hospital.

The Illawarra learning club, hosted by Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation, which supports both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students with their studies after school hours was celebrated on Monday.

Sydney Living Museums is to acquire five works by leading Indigenous artists. There are plans for SLM executives to visit the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation in Wollongong and select a work to hang in their offices as a reminder of the organisation's commitment to telling the stories of Indigenous history.

Hanging upon the walls of the Mann-Tatlow gallery, is the wisdom handed down through the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation. "Keeping culture alive" showcases the work of seven artists, from Illawarra elders down to teenagers.

Aunty Lorraine Brown and her sister, Narelle Thomas, were quick to grasp the opportunity for visual storytelling to create a mural at Hill 66.

Stories of the Aboriginal people of Port Kembla feature in a newly constructed seawall in that suburb. As part of the project, Sydney Water worked with local artists of the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation with a view to incorporating some of their works.

Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation was commissioned to undertake workshops with local residents living in social homes in Warrawong to create a series of murals that represent the area they live in.

Sydney Water is rebuilding a severely damaged sea wall around its Port Kembla storm plant. A colonial and indigenous art installation will be a feature of the new sea wall, designed in partnership with the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation.

Another year, another successful NAIDOC Family Fun Day celebration in Warrawong. Well-known and highly respected elders Uncle Gerald Brown and Aunty Lorraine Brown did a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony.

Dharawal elder Lorraine Brown, an artist at Coomaditichie United Aboriginal Corporation in Port Kembla, believes a treaty won't change anything.

Aboriginal people weren't responsible for the noxious weeds that invaded Coomaditchie Lagoon and strangled the native plant life. But it was two Aboriginal sisters who took it into their own hands to clean up the mess.

Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation was the big winner of COORDINARE - South Eastern NSW PHN's inaugural Pitch Night receiving $70,500 for their Deadly Women and Deadly Girls program.

A small Aboriginal community hall on the NSW south coast is home to a groundbreaking cultural mentorship program turning around the lives of disengaged Indigenous students.

The Ngaramura (See the Way) Project run by the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation is making a huge difference to struggling Aboriginal students in the Illawarra.

Led by Elders and Coomaditchie founders, Aunty Lorraine Brown and Aunty Narelle Thomas, ‘Capturing Culture’ sought to connect Aboriginal people across the generations, using modern and traditional media, to record and preserve the stories of 28 Aboriginal Elders.

If we can carry on the cause of our Elders to break down a lot of the barriers that'll be a big achievement for all of us. And people will know that the history of this country starts with the traditional owners of this country.

The Five Islands creation story painted by respected Koori artists Lorraine Brown and Narelle Thomas was unveiled today at a celebration hosted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

A program that helps preserve Aboriginal culture is among the first recipients of funding from the IRT Foundation's inaugural Community Grants Program.

Draft maps outlining a suggested overhaul of Hill 60 trail show a heritage-focused walking track – to be known as the Ngaraba-ann Trail – which would link Port Kembla Heritage Park to Hill 60 and Coomaditchie Reserve.

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School in Port Kembla unveiled their new mural yesterday. A collaboration between the pupils and Coomaditchie Artists' Co-operative members Lorraine Brown and Narelle Thomas, the three-panelled painting features the children's interpretations of Illawarra dreaming stories.

Last week, sisters Narelle Thomas and Lorraine Brown unveiled a small collection of artworks reflecting their indigenous heritage, at the Alibi bar on Crown Street.

An Indigenous advocacy group is trying to break the record in Darwin for the largest ever ball of string.

People from all walks of life gathered in Warrawong, on July 8 to celebrate NAIDOC Day.

Aunty Lorraine Brown, of Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation uses art to break down barriers and give the community members more understanding about Aboriginal culture.

It's not often you get a chance to sit down with two well-respected Indigenous artists, learn from their skill, hear their stories and contribute to a beautiful artwork. But that's what's been happening with sick children at the Illawarra Hospital School in Wollongong over the last month.

Tucked into the industrial landscape of Port Kembla on the New South Wales South Coast is the Coomaditichie lagoon. For a long time, the area was neglected and environmentally unsound. But more recently, the Coomaditichie United Aboriginal Corporation have started caring for the lagoon.

University of Wollongong Commerce students have prepared a marketing plan for the Coomaditchie United Aboriginal Corporation as part of the new UOW Community Exchange program.