‘State Of The Art’ Attraction Opening In New South Wales

July 2009

Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery Centre

“The Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery Centre is a brand new attraction located on the Princess Highway at Bulli Tops, in New South Wales.  The attraction focuses on the social history and culture of the Aboriginal people of Illawarra and the South Coast.

Jumbulla was a dream of some of the elders of the Wollongong area for over nine years and has now become a reality. As with any new venture there were many hurdles to overcome including local government regulations, funding difficulties, community perspectives and delays to construction. Unfortunately, over those years, Jumbulla has lost these forward thinking elders.

Jumbulla Aboriginal Discovery Centre

Chris Noel, Project Manager for Jumbulla said “this exciting new project has never been attempted anywhere in Australia. It represents the meeting of worlds – stories of our elders; their families; their loves and life and the new technology of multimedia, such as DigiGlass and water screens”

There are four different theatres where a number of narrations are presented with a unique blend of cutting edge technology and human interaction.

1. Welcome - where visitors will be welcomed to Country using audio/visual and personal stories. Visitors will gain an insight into the variety of Indigenous People that make up Indigenous Australia.
2. The Land - using digital glass technology - The stories of the creation of the Land and the Illawarra communities’ tied to it will be told in a dramatic fashion on a full height DigiGlass screen. One minute visitors will be looking out the window over the escarpment to the sea. Suddenly, the view will change morphing to a view of the land 3000 years ago, to tell the story of how Aboriginal people have lived in this land for many centuries, how the escarpment was created by a giant serpent and of how the people of this area used it for 10,000 years and linking the oldest road in the world to this area.
3. The Family - using a water screen - Stories of Family will be centred on a midden and will feature the use of projections onto a water screen to tell stories of family life, interaction, work and play. These stories are evocative, humorous and told from a personal perspective. These stories will show, over recent years, the Illawarra people have moved up and down the coast always returning home to family and country
4. Togetherness - using interactive multi screens - Coming Together tells the stories of those things that unite us rather than divide us and will be told in the theatre. This will be both an interactive and audio visual experience where visitors can join with indigenous people to express their views, support and commitment for future generations to view.

Interspersed amongst these theatres will be a Hairy Man story which has been especially designed for children .  There are also a number of other quality displays which provide an opportunity for visitors to delve into moments of contemporary Aboriginal history in Australia.

Jumbulla will be offering up to ten employment positions for local Aboriginal people as guides. They have undergone training in AussieHost – customer service training and TAFE training.

Artists impression

“In this current economic climate it is great to be able to offer new employment opportunities to Aboriginal people. These will be working in a new hi tech environment and will help the visitor to understand the history, experiences and feeling of Aboriginal people living in the Illawarra,” said Mr Noel.

Colin Markham is a strong supporter of Aboriginal developments in the Illawarra and is the Chairman of the Board governing the discovery centre project.  Mr Markham said “the dream came from the families of the Illawarra and the hard work and dedication by the IAC and others is about to become reality.

“Its activities like this that brings about a closer understanding of issues faced and aspirations of Aboriginal people. I’m excited to be part of this wonderful new attraction,” said Mr Markham.

The Aboriginal people of Illawarra and the South Coast invite you to “Come walk in Our Footprints”
Pricing: Adult $15.00; Child/Student/Pension $10.50; Family $42.50 (2 adult; 2 children/student)