Extraordinary measure of Indigenous expo's success

The fabulous success of the Illawarra Indigenous Business Expo can be measured in many ways, and only one of those is in numbers.

The numbers were good, though: last Friday's event was the fourth expo, the stall count has more than doubled to 67 since its 2023 debut, and nearly 600 people came through the doors at Novotel. 

But the achievement goes deeper than data. It can be weighed in respect, connection and even societal change, business owners told the Flame.

“There's a whole lot of diversity,” said expo organiser Maiquilla Brown, whose weaving business, Njurgun Nangamai, was among several creative stalls in the room.

“But we also have people who do trades and who do services. So we have a plumber, an electrician, people who do test and tagging. 

“We have the Niche Nursery – they’re showing off plants and their bush tucker education. We also have Illawarra Urgent Response and Apex, which are two local, pretty cool first responders…

“Gimarra Dairy came last year, but they're launching their dairy up in Western Sydney today. They're going to be the first First Nations-owned and -run dairy in all of Australia.” 

The buzz of goodwill at Friday’s expo was all the more remarkable in light of the time when it began.

Wollongong City Council launched the expo in 2023, the year Australians voted no in the Voice to Parliament referendum, leaving a legacy of hurt. 

Three years on, Maiquilla, a proud Yuin Walbunja Migaay woman, said allyship was evident in the number of non-Indigenous visitors.

“Since the failure of the referendum a few years ago, there's been a huge surge in racist views and people being mean and being disrespectful, and so the pendulum kind of swung in one direction.

“Now we're seeing the opposite, where we're having a huge amplification of our allies are coming through and showing up. 

“So when you walk through the expo today, we have a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses, but the majority of our community members are our allies – which is really beautiful.”

It was the first time exhibiting for Rebekah McLean, a teacher who has brought her passion for education to running Thirroul’s Niche Nursery with her brother Matt, an arborist. “Before it was just an overgrown area,” Rebekah said. “Now we're diversifying into edibles and natives, and really just trying to share the knowledge.”

Rebekah had array of plants and plant products, like lemon myrtle tea. She was delighted by the turnout at the expo.  “It helps me grow, because we're still only 12 months into the business. I'm thrilled.”

Rhonda West, the owner of Annie’s Creations, travelled from Sydney to set up a stall of handmade goods, including jewellery, lamps and candles scented with Kakadu plum, wild rosella, fingerlime and lemon myrtle. 

“They're all canned and poured by myself,” said Rhonda, who uses local ingredients and essential oils from a First Nations company in Dubbo. 

The expo is great exposure, Rhonda said. “It’s been wonderful. Having all the support – it's what we actually need, and we actually need more of it.”

The tremendous spread of talent included one of the top artists working on Dharawal Country – Murawari woman Dr Virginia Keft.

Virginia won the people's choice award at 2025’s Sculpture in the Garden and will be back in 2027’s exhibition at Wollongong Botanic Garden. “I'm a finalist in the acquisitive permanent public arts section of the prize. So I will be unveiling something brand new for the new year, which is very exciting,” she said.

Virginia displayed jewellery, earrings and bangles, as well as her prize-winning flying foxes, woven art that draws attention to the pollinators’ importance to Country.  

“One of the things that I've been working on is Weaving Connections, which is a weaving project that I run for community and in community,” Virginia said. 

Coming to the expo has helped this longterm project, which will ultimately produce a collaborative artwork. “It’s great to connect with other Indigenous business owners across the Illawarra, and to be able to share some of our ideas and resources.”

Errolyn Strang, the founder and director of Culture Across Time, has attended every expo and loves the variety, from scaffolding to IT enterprises, cleaning to children’s clothing. “It's just getting bigger and better,” she said. 

For decades, Errolyn has fostered understanding through Aboriginal cultural training, including at BlueScope, Big Fat Smile and Warrigal.

“I think it's really important that the broader community of Australia get to know the true shared history,” she said. “It's not about blame, shame and guilt. It's about ‘oh, did you know that this is our history?’”

Knowing about the past helps people in the present, she said. “What is the significance of Mount Keira, for example? We call her Djeera.

"Because when they're at the barbecue or they're in a social setting, it's also really important that they're able to rebut the myths and pull up the untruths and share the good stories.”

Since 2019, Errolyn has coordinated a Tuesday group that’s grown from about six to 30 First Nations women who enjoy cultural activities, such as making bangalow baskets and emu feather belts. “The project that we're finishing up, and have been working on for over a year, is an exhibition that represents the story of Oola-boola-woo, the Five Islands and, of course, Djeera.” 

Save the date: the exhibition will open at 5.30pm on Thursday, November 5 at the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation at 4 Wentworth Street, Port Kembla.

Kaine Green, head of learning and leadership at Marring, said the expo was a chance to connect and collaborate, as his Nowra-based organisation recently did with Wollongong’s Coomaditchie. “It's good to get out and speak with community,” Kaine said. 

With a staff of 24, Marring offers mentoring, junior ranger courses and Dharawal language programs in 54 schools across the Shoalhaven and Illawarra, Kaine said.

“It is about connection – connection to country, connection to culture, connection to one another, as people. It's a fundamental part of who we are.”

Wollongong’s Lord Mayor, Tania Brown, loves the idea of more Dharawal language in schools.

“I was in New Zealand recently and was so impressed at how language is embedded,” she said. “I think there's so much more that we could do to embed Indigenous language and certainly Dharawal into our own conversation, and it's something that I'm going to be personally working on as well.”

The lord mayor said it was good to see a packed room. 

“I’m very excited to be here at the Indigenous Business Expo that council started back in 2023 with just 30 businesses. Now we have over 65 businesses and we've transitioned the event to Maiquilla Brown, so an Indigenous business that's running the event, and great to see it so well supported.”

Otford’s Gemma Lloyd, of Sacred Country Consulting, ran last year’s expo, then passed the baton to emerging leader Maiquilla, who launched her events management business, Bimbala Collective, late last year.

“I’m really proud of Maiquilla,” Gemma said. “I can attest to how much time, effort, and energy goes into it.

"To see this many businesses in the Illawarra, and the amount of support that the First Nations economy has from our community is the thing that brings me the most joy.”