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We are a primary health and wellbeing organisation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people operating on the traditional lands of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples. We strive to provide a holistic model that responds to the physical, social emotional, Cultural and spiritual need of our people.

A message to our community:

This will be the last printed newsletter we produce. To improve access and reduce paper use, all future newsletters will be delivered digitally or via our website. We thank you for your understanding as we move to a more efficient way of keeping everyone informed. Support is available for anyone who needs help connecting online.

Goolum Goolum Aboriginal Co-operative respectfully acknowledges that our offices are based on unceded land of the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawajali, Wergaia and Jupagulk peoples. We pay our respects to their ancestors, and to Elders, both past and present, and to the future Elders and caretakers of this land.

Welcome

Dalk

Welcome back and I hope 2026 has started well.

We have had a very hot summer and thanks to all of our teams who have supported health and wellbeing during these extreme heat and fire danger periods.

I’m sure all of our students have settled back into the school routines and as always, we are here to help in anyway to ensure families have no barriers in getting the young ones to school. Great to see we had some fun summer activities, and I know 2026 will be full of fun community events – particularly at the amazing Dalki Guli Hub. Youth groups and after school programs are all being worked on so feel free to call in and see what’s on offer.

We welcome a few new faces in this edition of the newsletter and I have great faith these new faces will be amazing additions to our Goolum family and we continue to recruit new staff to meet our ever growing services.

Take care, stay cool and I look forward to seeing as many of the community as possible at the HUB.

Take care, Ants

Board of Directors

Ants Craig - CEO

John Gorton Board Director

Lachlan Marks Board Director

Pamela Branson Board Director

Brandi Olston Board Director

Jake Goodes Chairperson

Kelly Britten Board Director

New Staff Profiles

Tania Sansbury

PROGRAM AREA

Tania Sansbury

Lakeisha Newell

PROGRAM AREA

Tania Sansbury

Krista Fischer

Health Services??

Family Services

POSITION

ACAC Practice Lead

MOB

Narungga

FAVOURITE FOOD

Pho, Laksa

FAVOURITE QUOTE

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all ~ Chinese proverb

OTHER INTERESTS

Music, Painting, Reading

Early Years

POSITION

Playgroup Facilitator

MOB

Wotjobaluk

PROGRAM AREA Health Clinic

FAVOURITE FOOD

NICKNAME - Meishy

Pasta

FAVOURITE FOOD

Pasta

AFL TEAM Collingwood

OTHER INTERESTS

Music, TV Shows, Walks

OTHER INTERESTS

Music, TV Shows, Walks

POSITION

Chronic Disease Coordinator Health Promotions

FAVOURITE FOOD

Anything savoury

MY SPORTS - Rowing

AFL TEAM

Geelong - by default (Mad keen sons!)

AFL TEAM

Geelong - by default (Mad keen sons!)

OTHER INTERESTS

Family and Friends

OTHER INTERESTS

Family and Friends

Following my sons with footy and cricket teams

Elder’s Celebrations

New Staff Profiles

Tania Sansbury

Chelsea Millemaci

Tania Sansbury

PROGRAM AREA

Tania Sansbury

Lakeisha Newell

Samantha Gray

PROGRAM AREA

Tania Sansbury

Krista Fischer

PROGRAM AREA

Health Services??

Health Clinic

POSITION

Maternal Child Health Nurse

ACAC Practice Lead

MOB Narungga

FAVOURITE FOOD

Chocolate, Slices Biscuits

FAVOURITE FOOD

Pho, Laksa

AFL TEAM Saints

FAVOURITE QUOTE

FAVOURITE QUOTE “love you more” when someone says I love you

The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all ~ Chinese proverb

OTHER INTERESTS

Music, Painting, Reading

Coffee, wine with friends hanging out with my kids

Family Services

Early Years

POSITION

IFS / FPR

Playgroup Facilitator

MOB

BIRTH PLACE

Horsham

Wotjobaluk

FAVOURITE FOOD

NICKNAME - Sam

Pasta

FAVOURITE FOOD

Pizza and Thai Food

AFL TEAM

Collingwood

OTHER INTERESTS

Music, TV Shows, Walks

Reading and activities with my children

Health Clinic

Family Services

POSITION

ACAC Admin

Chronic Disease Coordinator Health Promotions

MOB

Wotjobaluk

FAVOURITE FOOD

Anything savoury

FAVOURITE FOOD

Chinese Food

AFL TEAM Geelong - by default (Mad keen sons!)

AFL TEAM Richmond

OTHER INTERESTS

Family and Friends

Reading Tyra King

Following my sons with footy and cricket teams

Elder’s Celebrations

Back to School

Dance Dedication

Keisha and Nakyra Clapham have excelled throughout their dance program in 2025, showing remarkable progress. It has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow as they develop skills across jazz, tap, ballet, acro and aerial. Their aerial work, performed on silks using portable rigs, highlights both their strength and artistry

Linda from Dynamic Dance Studio, shared that the girls have demonstrated exceptional natural ability

The program provides a safe and supportive space for each dancer ’s individual journey. A professional crew travelled from Melbourne to film the students, capturing their work for a special showcase held in December in Stawell. Although the girls were unwell and unable to attend, they still proudly received their Certificate of Participation along with a graded medal, recognising a fantastic year of dedication and achievement.

Mason’s Milestone

On the last weekend of December Mason achieved 2 wonderful Parkrun milestones. First he completed his 50th Parkrun, which was a very exciting achievement! Secondly, on the same day, he got a new PB of 21:50 for the 5 KM run. This is an amazing achievement and puts him in the top 72.29% for his age group for all Parkrunners world wide! The percentage represents how his time compares to the fastest-known time (the “world record”) for

Congratulations to Benjiman Muir, Xavier Skurrie and Georgia Skurrie for representing for Horsham Hornets this basketball season. Congratualtions also goes to Jules, Jalen and Jordan Lockwood for representing Stawell Wildcats in the Basketball this season. Basketball tournaments take a great toll on kids and their families with training twice a week, including weekends, as well as the extensive travel. Our kids all show up and give it 100% with most of them playing Amateur League and squad games.

We’re hiring! Join our team and help care for Country working in Victoria’s great outdoors

Parks Victoria is looking for Community skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to help us protect Country within our incredible Cultural opportunities would allow you to work in some of Victoria's most unique settings, from desert dunes and mountaintops to coastal landscapes and ancient forests Our jobs are based all over Victoria and are open to all Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander people. You’ll be playing a key role in preserving our parks and natural assets for present and future generations - all you need is a passion for people and a love of our amazing outdoors!

Positions Vacant

Current advertised Desig nated Aboriginal Positions

• Grampians Senior Recovery Project Officer (Designated Aboriginal Position) Location: Grampians Region - Negotiable, applications close 1st of March 2026.

• X6 Ranger roles (Designated Aboriginal Position) Multiple Locations: Plenty Gorge, Echuca, Portland, Warrnambool, Halls Gap, Little River. applications close 8th of March 2026.

• X2 Yorta-Yorta Ranger (Designated Yorta-Yorta Aboriginal Position) – Location: Nathalia, applications close 8th of March 2026

• Yorta-Yorta Women’s Ranger (Designated YortaYorta Aboriginal Position) – Location: Nathalia, applications close 8th of March 2026

Interested?

We welcome you to view all current vacancies at Parks Victoria and apply online by scanning the QR Code or visiting careers.vic.gov.au

Why work for Parks Victoria?

Every day is different - you will be working with a diverse range of individuals, with the work you’ll be carrying out providing future generations with green spaces. Parks Victoria develops our talent and creates future leaders by providing training, secondment opportunities into a variety of roles which may enable career progression. Parks Victoria manages areas of isolated natural beauty and sites of outstanding Aboriginal Cultural heritage.

What

roles can you apply for with

Parks Victoria?

Our organisation is made up of more than 400 on the ground park rangers, conservation scientists, Aboriginal heritage experts, engineers, planners, a corporate team including IT, people and culture, finance and a commercial team who liaise with over 500 licenced tour operators.

If you have any queries or would like more information

Please contact us at recruitment@parks.vic.gov.au . Or Aboriginalemploymentandwellbeing@parks.vic.gov.au

Our teams will be happy to help , you can also visit the Parks Victoria website for news across the organisati on www.parks.vic.gov.au/

Community Celebrations

Christmas Celebrations in Horsham

What a fantastic day on Country! Our Community Christmas Event brought everyone together for a celebration filled with laughter, connection, and cultural pride. Families caught up under the shade, with lots of shared stories, and the kids ran through the water games with huge smiles on their faces. The whole day was a beautiful reminder of the strength, joy, and resilience of our community.

Community Lunch

The Dalki Guli Hub was open Monday 26th Jan, bringing Community together for a light lunch, a yarn, and a wonderful time being creative. A big thank you to Clothing The Gaps (Sarah Sheridan) for coming down and supporting Community to design their own T-shirts, tote bags, and shorts.

Christmas Celebrations in Stawell

Surf n Beach Day

Goolum Goolum joined Community for an unforgettable surf day @ Warrnambool in January. The families had the chance to experience the thrill of surfing guided by Surfing Victoria. We had some awesome giveaway beach towels thanks to Nicole from Dhelk Dja. The day was well supported with over 100 Community attending. Bring on 2027!!

Back to School

With over 150 School students, Kinder & Playgroup kids registered for Back To School this year it was an action-packed day. The students had an opportunity to make their own school lunch with the beautifully designed lunch boxes we had this year. Along with a back pack, pencil case, sun hat the kids were well equipped ready to return to school.

Maternal and Child Health

We have welcomed Caitlin Devereaux to our clinic team. Caitlin is our new speech therapist working on Wednesdays alternating between Horsham and Stawell, please call the clinic on 53816 301 for an appointment.

Dr Emily is on leave until 12th of March, it is important to please ensure you have checked all your scripts are up to date as our doctors’ appointments are going very quickly and sometimes, we cannot accommodate same day or week appointments.

Specsavers are visiting Goolum on the 29th of April Audiologist visiting on the 14th of April please call to make an appointment 5381 6301

SEWB

Goolum Goolum

Social, Emotional Wellbeing and Therapeutic Services

Youth mental health & brief interventions

For young mob 12 - 25 years

Advocacy

Brief Intervention / Lifestyle support

Care & Recovery Coordination

Cultural and social connection

Ongoing assistance in day-today challenges

Referrals and assistance

Bringing Them Home Bringing Them Home

Available to all Community

Support to complete Confirmation of Aboriginality (COA) applications and obtain COA Certificate

Support to access Link-Up Help to research and understand family history

For all mob over 16 years

Advocacy

Brief Intervention / Outreach

Social, Emotional & Wellbeing (SEWB) Social, Emotional & Wellbeing (SEWB)

Advocacy

Assistance in day-to-day challenges

Cultural connection

Education and Employment pathway support

Housing and Homelessness advocacy

Improve emotional wellbeing

Social interaction

Supported referrals to other services

Support in addressing food insecurity

Support to access financial aid

Care & Recovery Coordination

Comprehensive Assessments

Therapeutic Counselling

accessing mental health services Alcohol & Other Drugs program Alcohol & Other Drugs program

Harm Minimisation / Treatment Plans

Referrals and assistance accessing other AOD services

Youth Buddies Youth Buddies

One-on-one support for those aged 12 - 18 years

Weekly or fortnightly catch ups

Help to set achievable goals

A safe space to talk about what’s going on in your life

Cultural and social connection

Referrals and assistance to access ongoing and/or intensive support services

For more information and/or referral to any of our SEWB & Therapeutic Programs, please contact us on (03) 5381 6333 and ask to speak to a SEWB worker.

CERVICAL SCREENING TEST

Talk to your doctor or nurse today -for yourself, your family and your community

The holidays can be hard for many reasons and it’s di erent for everyone. If you or someone you know is not doing well, there are contacts and resources to access for help. Nothing is more powerful than giving each other a HAND UP, reaching out to each other and connecting with each other through this time. If you or someone you know is not doing well, there are contacts and resources to access for help. Nothing is more powerful than giving each other a HAND UP, reaching out to each other and connecting with each other through this time.