Construction has commenced on Wathaurong Dreaming Project: a comprehensive community hub for Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative.

Located on Wathaurong Country, Greater Geelong, the region is home to one of the largest Indigenous populations in Victoria, with Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative the largest employer of Aboriginal people in the region.

Deputy Chief Executive of the Wathaurong, Rose De Jong, says the Co-opcurrently serves 800 community members across multiple sites – including health, family violence support, out-of-home care, childcare support, homelessness assistance and cultural strengthening events across multiple locations. With the community growing and services expanding, the existing facilities no longer met the needs of the people they were servicing.

“Our community has been growing, our services and supports have continued to grow, so there’s always been a conversation about where to next,” says De Johng.

Wathaurong engaged Woods Bagot to co-design a new facility, which would both consolidate and expand their existing services. Incorporating local knowledge and cultural wisdom, the project constitutes a new typology based on the traditional yarning circle, providing an instrument for community gathering.

Woods Bagot is pursuing an architecture that responds intimately to the Cowies Creek microclimate and engages with the extensive ecological restoration work carried out on the site.

Established in 1980, Wathaurong was conceived to provide a holistic and culturally sensitive service for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. From its origins as a kitchen-table community enterprise, the Co-op has radically expanded its operations over the last 40 years, now servicing more than 85 percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the region.

“Collaborating with the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative has provided us incredible insights into their evolution as an organisation, their aspirations for the future and allowed us to co-create a clear narrative that we have translated into a physical environment to support their growth,” says Woods Bagot Principal Bronwyn McColl.

“Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative has been on the site for over 30 years, so there are such strong connections for Community, who have diligently rejuvenated the site from its previous use as a landfill.  It exemplifies what is possible when you practice First Nations knowledge and care for Country. The design is a celebration of the beauty of Cowie Creek Lake, the surrounding foreshore and acknowledging the importance of the Scar Tree and Women’s Tranquillity Garden that exist on the site.”

The designs for the new hub retain the best parts of Wathaurong’s legacy while providing the necessary infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of the community. It combines connection to culture and tradition while integrating contemporary services to support the needs of generations to come.

With the guidance of the Co-op, the design is intended to enable self-determination and promote cultural resilience, ensuring First Nations communities have access to services that are designed by and for them.

Demolition of the existing Morgan St building has begun, and site preparatory works are now underway, with construction slated to kick off in September.

“This moment marks an important milestone in the projects journey,” adds McColl. “Attending the farewell ceremony for the existing Morgan Street buildings was a moving day to be a part of, seeing the importance this place has for Community. We are incredibly grateful to be a part of such an important project.”

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative Chief Executive Simon Flagg said the milestone represents years of advocacy, planning, and community consultation.

“This investment is a powerful acknowledgment of the importance of Aboriginal-led community infrastructure,” he said. “The Wathaurong Dreaming Project is about more than a building – it’s about creating a place where culture is strengthened, community is supported, and future generations can thrive.”

The redevelopment project will be an ongoing collaboration with Wathaurong to create a deeply responsive, contextual, and highly attuned cultural hub to service the needs of generations of First Nations families to come.

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Isla Sutherland
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