In the weeks ahead we will profile some of the amazing individuals and groups who were recognised at the recent Wollongong Citizen of the Year Awards. There’s no better way to begin than with the recipient of our 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year, Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson.
The crowd erupted with applause when Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery named proud Wadi Wadi woman and local Elder ‘Aunty Barb’ Nicholson the 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year. Never before has a First Nations person taken home our city’s most prestigious honour.
Born and raised at the Kemblawarra Aboriginal Settlement at Coomaditchie, ‘Aunty Barb’ was fortunate to have a mother who, denied the opportunity to pursue higher learning herself, rose above great personal adversity to instil in her daughter the importance of education.
After raising her own family, Aunty Barb went on to graduate from the University of Newcastle with an Arts degree triple major in English Literature, Linguistics and Philosophy. Closer to home, at the University of Wollongong, she has inspired and informed generations of students and staff. Over three decades she has lectured in Aboriginal studies, history, law and literature and, in 2014, Aunty Barb was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws at UOW, recognising her significant and ongoing service to the university and her contribution to law and social justice in Australia.
Away from academia, Aunty Barb has been at the forefront of grassroots campaigns to achieve justice for First Nations people in Australia. She was the driving force behind Link-Up, an organisation committed to reuniting and supporting families and individuals affected by Australia’s forced removal policies. Her commitment to tackling the over-representation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system saw her give many years of service to the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee and bring tertiary education and creative writing opportunities to Koori prison inmates.
In 2023, Aunty Barb travelled from her Port Kembla home to Junee Prison to launch Volume 11 of Dreaming Inside: Voices from the Junee Correctional Centre. Having visited the prison more than 300 times, her impact has been sustained and impactful, mentoring and inspiring creative writing under the ‘Black Wallaby Project’. As editor of the Black Wallaby she takes pride in providing the opportunity for inmates to share their stories and lift up their voices to be heard.
In acknowledgement of her vital work on the Black Wallaby project, the First Nations Australian Writers Network awarded Aunty Barb the significant honour of a Lifetime Achievement Award to First Nations Literature.
In her acceptance speech when named the 2024 Wollongong Citizen of the Year Award, Aunty Barb said: "I’m going to take this moment back with me to my beautiful boys in Junee Prison and let them know what their commitment to the Black Wallaby project has brought about, and how well and respected it is, because they are the reason I keep doing what I do."
Readers can support Aunty Barb’s work by buying the anthologies via the South Coast Writers Centre. The next volume of Dreaming Inside will be launched at Wollongong Art Gallery in May as part of the Sydney Writers Festival satellite program. The special guest speaker on the evening will be Aboriginal author Graham Akhurst. Book tickets here.
The City of Wollongong Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the people and organisations who make our city a better place. Check out the full list of 2024 award recipients here and start thinking about nominations for next year…
