Yumba Gathering & Family Signage Meeting – Community Update
We had a wonderful turnout over the weekend, with more than 50 people coming together to reconnect, share stories, and enjoy each other’s company. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and it was great to see so many families represented.
The Gunggari community came together at the Yumba on Saturday, 28 March 2026, for a well‑attended and culturally significant Elders Gathering. The meeting provided a dedicated space for Elders to share their knowledge, perspectives, and aspirations for the establishment of a Gunggari Elders Council.
Thank you to Grant Sarra for facilitating the meeting and Daen Munn who assisted also.
Throughout the day, Elders engaged in meaningful discussions focused on:
• The role, structure, and responsibilities of a Gunggari Elders Council
• Ensuring Elders’ voices lead the development of this important cultural body
• Strengthening connections across families, Country, and community
• Supporting intergenerational knowledge transfer and cultural continuity
The Gathering marked an important step toward building a culturally grounded, community‑led Elders Council that reflects Gunggari values, history, and collective aspirations.
We acknowledge and thank all Elders and community members who attended and contributed their wisdom. Your leadership continues to guide the future direction of our people.
On Sunday, we held the Yumba Family Signage Meeting, where we agreed that each family will nominate one contact person to help coordinate the next steps for the signage project.
Bottom Yumba: Janelle Lawton will be coordinating the Bottom Yumba families.
Top Yumba: Sue Saunders will be coordinating the Top Yumba families, and she will be sending an email shortly to gather the Family Representatives for that area.
To help keep communication organised, we kindly ask that families use email as the primary contact method, unless a phone call is absolutely necessary. With almost 40 family reps for the Bottom Yumba alone, email helps ensure nothing is missed.
Based on the maps for the Bottom Yumba, we still require representatives for several families. Those who attended the meeting are asked to email Janelle Lawton secretary@gunggaripbc.com.au confirming which family you are representing so we can identify any families still needing follow‑up.
Thank you to Leah Cooper for her amazing food, Leah catered for our whole weekend and everyone agreed the highlight of the weekend was the FOOD!
Thank you again to everyone who attended and contributed to such a positive and productive weekend. We look forward to sharing further updates as the project progresses.
