Aboriginal Cultural Centre reopening: Over the last couple of years we have been working with the Aboriginal Cultural Centre to make improvements to the space with a view to offering a professional gallery space for indigenous artists and a more welcoming front entrance for visitors. These initiatives have been funded by a Creative Koori grant from Create NSW. We have had a few delays - the disruption of the pandemic and 2022 flood disaster - but have finally completed the project. We are inviting you to the grand reopening of the Aboriginal Cultural Centre on Friday the 5th of May at 3.00pm.

Our Vice President: Darren Maxwell migrated from the US in 2016 to join his father in the area and now lives in Barkers Vale with his partner, Mark. He works with local builder and well-known community member Charlie Cohen and joined our committee in 2018 “to get to know the Nimbin community.  This has been a great way to not only get to know what’s happening but also contribute in a meaningful way to my chosen community”. Darren is interested in event planning and management and was a driving force in organising the highly successful, 2019 New Year’s fire brigade fundraiser at the Tuntable Falls Community Hall following the bushfires.

The future for Nimbin Community Centre: The management committee finds itself at a crossroads where they are coming to terms with the great changes we are dealing with as a community. Older committee members are moving on while social, economic and climate pressures are presenting considerable challenges on a not-for-profit organisation such as ours.

It is the desire of the Management Committee to continue to develop the Nimbin Community Centre into a vibrant community hub where not only great services, like those offered by many of our current tenants, but other community activities and events can occur. We also want to attract the younger generation of the village community to celebrate, take ownership of and participate in the unique legacy of Community owned and operated spaces.

As part of this process we have undertaken a complete review of our business model, a process supported by the federal government’s Entrepreneur Program. We are at the stage where we are implementing significant changes to how we run as an organisation – the first major changes in 25 years - with a view to reducing the rent burden on our tenants while creating more effectively funded management of our infrastructure, which includes nine very aged buildings. Change can be challenging and we are still refining our ideas. Hopefully we will be able to update you with more specifics next month.

Volunteers and engagement: Volunteers, both at the committee level and as workers for the Community Centre are a vital part of how we operate and develop our Centre. Nimbin Community Centre welcomes newcomers who have settled in our beautiful village and would love to invite you to engage with us. If you have time and/or any skills, you would like to offer, we would love to hear from you. Joining as a volunteer is great way to get know the community and share your skills enthusiasm and talent. If you are interested you can contact us via our website, www.nimbincommunity.org.au or email ncci@nimbincommunity.org.au or call 02) 66890 000 and our centre staff will be happy to speak to you about what you have to offer and how you can help.