Another book in the Dreaming Inside: Voices from Junee Correctional Centre series was launched on Thursday, 22 May at Wollongong Art Gallery.

"That makes a baker’s dozen," said Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson of the 13th volume of writings by Aboriginal inmates at Junee Correctional Centre.

"Their writings speak of hope, ambition for the future but also of the sadness of being away from their families, their children and their Country."

The writings come from creative writing workshops held in the jail conducted by tutors from the Ngana Barangarai (Black Wallaby) programme.

The works are published unedited, uncorrected, so the writers’ voices come through loud and clear.

"The very fact of writing is empowering for these men," said Aunty Barbara, a Wadi Wadi elder, Wollongong's 2024 Citizen of the Year and the longtime director of the Ngana Barangarai program.

"To have their writings in print is very uplifting for them," she said.

Also launched last Thursday was Volume 2 of Sista's Green Sea Dreaming: Voices from Dillwynia Correctional Centre for Women.

"It’s just as important for women, being able to tell their story in their own words,"  Aunty Barbara said.

One of the women whose writing appears in Volume 2 of Sista’s Green Sea Dreaming worries about the increasing incarceration rates of Aboriginal women. She writes: "Who is looking after our Elders, the children and the men now? who is keeping the fire burning? who is holding a light in the window?"

Both volumes were launched by acclaimed author Dr Melanie Saward.

The Ngana Barangarai programme has been running for 14 years.

In the year to March 2025, the national Indigenous incarceration rate has increased by 15%.

By 30 June 2024, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners accounted for 36% of all prisoners in Australia even though Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander account for less than 4% of Australia’s adult population.

The books in Aunty Barbara's series are available via the South Coast Writers Centre's website.