Gerringong Rotary has made a three year commitment to support a Northern Territory community newspaper.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Members of the Rotary board donated $2500 to the project and have pledged a commitment of $1,500 each year for three years.
The partnership was formed when associate professor of medical anthropology at UOW, Kate Senior gave a talk to the club about Ngukurr News in November.
Rotarian Sandra McCarthy said everyone was very impressed with what Ms Senior and UOW were achieving.
“The newspaper itself was so informative and positive. Very inspirational, and gave a voice to the community,” Mrs McCarthy said.
“This is the beginning of growing a strong relationship between the communities of Gerringong and the remote community of Ngukkur.”
The community newspaper has been significant in uniting the community, through education and knowledge.
The Ngukurr News originated in South East Arnhem land in 1999, where it continued until 2004.
“The Ngukurr news is the result of a collaboration between the remote Aboriginal community of Ngukurr and staff and students of the University of Wollongong,” associate professor of medical anthropology at UOW, Kate Senior, said.
“It was resurrected in response to community demand in 2016. It stands out to local people as a project with particular value in its capacity for building community identity and self-representation.”
Ms Senior said Ngukurr had minimal access to print media.
“The newspaper provides a concrete opportunity to train young people in all areas of news production, from writing and photography through to distribution,” she said.
“It is also a powerful advocacy tool. The newspaper is an archive of community stories, providing opportunities to develop literacy in English, in a community where printed reading material is very rare.”
The funding from Gerringong Rotary will fund the cost of travel for editor, Daphne Daniels, to Wollongong for further training.
It will also be used to fund media student Oliver Chaseling to go to Ngukurr and provide on the ground support in the production of the paper.