The John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct team is committed to genuine and meaningful collaboration with our Aboriginal community. By supporting the health and wellbeing of Country and by valuing, respecting, and being guided by Aboriginal people, who know that if we care for Country – it will care for us.
January 2024 - Information sessions for Aboriginal staff More than 40 Aboriginal staff attended two sessions led by facility planners Shirley Graham and Karen Height along with Health Infrastructure Project Manager Lauren Stocks and Executive Director Aboriginal Health Raylene Gordon. Read more about these sessions. December 2023 - Session for service managers The team hosted a visit from John Hunter Hospital Service Managers to take a look at what is happening from a site level. Read more about the visit. February 2023 - Launch of our Reconciliation Action Plan The project team has celebrated the launch of Health Infrastructure’s first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) by hosting a satellite event at their new offices. Read more about the RAP here. December 2022 - Closing the Gap The project team were happy to join forces with the John Hunter Hospital’s Closing the Gap Collaborative Group to host a barbeque at the end of the year. See the pictures from the day here. November 2022 - An unexpected find creates a cultural connection. During the construction a natural ochre pit was discovered onsite. Watch a video about what happened here. October 2022 - From little things, big things will grow Local Aboriginal Land Councils and Elders were invited to participate in a seedling collection led by Kentan Proctor and the Green Team from Bahtabah Local Aboriginal Land Council. Watch our video for more information. September 2022 - Painting a picture of the future Arts strategy workshops were held to seek the opinions of staff, our Aboriginal stakeholders and those working in the arts and creative fields. Read more about the feedback here. June 2022 - Connecting with Country from the ground up The project team has developed a unique partnership with local Aboriginal communities to raise awareness of the importance of native vegetation and soil deposits in First Nations culture. Prior to any site clearing, we invited members of our four Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs) and Elders to walk on Country. Watch our video to find out more. Early 2022 - Building a foundation of strong relationships The team were invited to spend a day on Country, hosted by the Worimi Aboriginal Land Council at the Murrook Culture Centre. Read more about the visit here. Mid 2021 – Establishing our Aboriginal Working Group This group comprises representatives from our local Aboriginal communities and provides opportunities to inform and shape the new Precinct through a cultural lens. Read more about the group here. Contact our Aboriginal Engagement Manager Sheryn Barrack for more information.