TSRA Chairperson's Column - May 2009

TSRA News Column

May 2009 

I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of Kaiwalagal on whose land I am writing from and all other traditional owners and elders throughout our region.

New community enterprise for Saibai

I had the pleasure of recently taking part in the opening of Saibai Island's latest community enterprise initiative, the Dhamuway Bistro.

The Bistro was officially opened on 28 April 2009 with the ceremony involving myself, Torres Strait Island Regional Council (TSIRC) Mayor Fred Gela, Saibai Councillor Mr Ron Enosa and traditional owners of the Dhamuway Clan.

TSRA was pleased to provide a grant of $393,103 to assist the former Saibai Island Council and the current TSIRC to establish the new Bistro.

Through our Community Economic Initiatives Scheme (CEIS), which was accessed by the Council to develop this Bistro, we aim to contribute directly to the economic growth of our region by assisting communities to develop income generating projects that result in social, cultural and economic benefits.

The Dhamuway Bistro now offers the people of Saibai a place where families and friends gather for a community event or to simply have a meal. It also offers opportunities for employment and skill development in catering and hospitality.

Completion of this project would not have been possible without the support of the TSIRC and I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the Council for working in partnership with the TSRA and contributing in kind CDEP labour, which assisted in site clearing and construction during the course of this project.

I also wish to thank previous TSRA Board Member Mr Terry Waia and the former Saibai Council, including Chairperson Mr Jensen Warusam, for their involvement in this project as well as Saibai's Traditional Owners and Community for their support and their warm hospitality during my visit to their island.

It is by working together, that we can progress development in our remote communities.


New TSRA and TAFE Arts Partnership

The TSRA operated Gab Titui Cultural Centre has entered an Artistic Skills Development Partnership with the Tropical North Queensland Institute of TAFE (TNQIT).

Gab Titui was successful in securing a grant of $40,000 through Arts Queensland's Building Skills and Opportunity Fund to support this new initiative, which aims to build the capacity of our outer island communities to create an economically-viable arts sector.

Through the Partnership, visual arts training workshops will be delivered on Iama, Boigu, Poruma and Mabuiag Islands.

The workshops will cater for artists at beginner through to intermediate levels, covering practices such as lino-cutting and screen printing.

There is an opportunity for workshop participants to increase their profile and enhance their incomes through the sale of their products, as artworks produced may be exhibited at Gab Titui Cultural Centre and could also be featured in Indigenous art fairs in Cairns and Darwin later this year.

A key aspect of this particular partnership is that planned workshops are going to be delivered within participating communities, which reduces the challenges of our artists and crafts people needing to travel away from home to access training.

The workshops will be delivered by TAFE art teacher, Ms Diana Abiad. If you would like to find out more about the workshops, please contact TAFE's Thursday Island campus on (07) 4069 2200.

Queensland Music Festival

TSRA is a sponsor of the Queensland Music Festival which is holding a series of workshops in the region to identify and develop emerging musical talent and celebrate Torres Strait's unique style of music and people.

Workshops are planned for Saturday 23 May, Saturday 20 June and Thursday 16 July 2009. The workshops will be coordinated by local musicians Mr Patrick Levi and Mr Cygnet Repu, alongside Ms Shellie Morris and Mr Rory McDougall. Following these sessions, a short musical production will be created with workshop participants and performed on Thursday Island as part of the Queensland Music Festival.

To Register for the workshops, please contact local workshop coordinator Mr Leo Akee, on (07) 4030 6311 or 0428 724 045.


Until the next column, may God bless you all and keep you safe.