1.Collate and maintain cultural, heritage and environmental information as it relates to Wamba Wamba and Perrepa Perrepa country;
2.Provide an educational service to the wider community including schools and community groups;
3.Engage in negotiations with local, state and federal and other agencies on matters relating to culture, heritage and the environment;
4.Provide the means for members to develop skills that will allow them to be involved in the provision of educational and research services;
5.Provide a centre to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next; and,
6.Acquire and hold title to land and water for the purposes of economic and cultural economy, cultural heritage, education and conservation.
In its short history, the organisation has won many awards including the Deniliquin Business Award – For Innovative Contribution from the Indigenous Community in 2004 and 2005.
In 2005 it also scored the NSW Premier’s Public Sector Awards – Bronze Award. This victory was in the Environment & Natural Resources category for the partnership arrangement between Yarkuwa, the Riverina Institute of TAFE Deniliquin Campus, Forests NSW, and the Department of Natural Resources.
The TAFE Gilli Award for Yarkuwa’s industry partnership with Riverina TAFE was also won in 2005.
Yarkuwa received further recognition in 2009, winning the Murray CMA Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations Indigenous Award, coming third in the NSW Landcare Awards – Indigenous Award and being nominated for the NSW Regional and Community Awards.
Yarkuwa has also now hosted several successful Wamba Wamba/Perrepa Perrepa Cultural Week celebrations. This has now developed as a longer celebration, and focuses on Wamba Wamba/Perrepa Perrepa culture and history.
The program runs in October to cater for a warmer climate and the growing season when traditional foods, herbs and medicines are abundant in the local area and can be included in the cultural tours.
The organisation is also a significant contributor of the Deniliquin Kolety Lagoon Landcare Group which is transforming the Deniliquin lagoon system into the vibrant wetlands they were intended to be.
In addition to environmental programs, Yarkuwa is also involved in language and arts projects, community wellbeing and safety work as well as maintaining a research section currently focusing on the impact of government policy on the lives of local families.
In 2018 Yarkuwa expanded its language program through the production of a story book Kawir & Kuthun — a retelling of the storytime tale of Emu and Brolga.
The book is primarily for youth and childcare but to be read by adults, created as a language learning tool with both Wamba Wamba and English language included. It delivers a cultural message about sharing and the consequences that arise when you don’t.
In the same year, Yarkuwa partnered with the Deniliquin Children’s Centre to introduce some local Aboriginal language in its preschool.
In 2017 Yarkuwa’s Chair Jeanette Crew was recognised for her lifetime contribution to Aboriginal Culture in NSW at the Museums and Galleries of NSW Imagine Awards and in 2019 she was a finalist in the NSW Woman of the Year’s NSW Aboriginal Woman of the Year award.
Yarkuwa operates through a philosophy of inclusion, respect and collaboration and welcomes visits to the centre to explore local Aboriginal culture and heritage, discuss Aboriginal issues and celebrate our shared history.Yarkuwa is located at 104 End St, Deniliquin. The centre contains family history information, a culture and heritage museum and a changing exhibition space.
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