As part of Wagga Wagga City Council’s (WWCC) support of the Wagga Wagga NAIDOC Committee, WWCC is a major sponsor of the NAIDOC Ball. This year, as part of the sponsorship package, being a major sponsor allowed WWCC to select an award and choose the name for it. We selected the Reconciliation Award and named it in honour of the first Wiradyuri woman Councillor, Aunty Yvonne Gilchrist.

This year the NAIDOC Committee selected two winners of the Aunty Yvonne Gilchrist Reconciliation Award – Colette Geier and Megan Norton.

I was able to meet up with Megan and have a chat with her about how she felt being nominated, and chosen, as an award recipient. During this conversation what was clear to me was how passionate Megan is with helping the local community. What also stood out was how emotional Megan feels about the awful history regarding what has happened to the First Nations Peoples of Australia and the clear effects this has on our people’s lives today.

If you don’t know who Megan is, she works for the local office of Red Cross as the Senior Administration Officer, Greater Western Region. But she can often be found working out of, and volunteering at, the Ngurra Hub in Ashmont. Over the past six years Megan has also worked with the local community at the Hubs in Tolland and Kooringal, as well as Ngurra Hub, where she has worked alongside Red Cross Community Centre Coordinators, and service providers, to support community needs in areas such as housing, financial, domestic violence, drug and alcohol, mental, and physical health.

Recently, in Megan’s role with Red Cross she has worked with health services including Murrumbidgee Local Health District & Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network (MPHN) delivering pop up vaccination clinics in Wagga Wagga & Griffith. Recently, as part of Megan’s role with the Wagga NAIDOC Committee she organised a partnership with MPHN to deliver additional clinics at Ngurra Hub where community members were able to easily access Pfizer vaccinations– a small but extremely important contribution to the protection of our Ashmont community.

What does Reconciliation mean to Megan?

These important volunteering initiatives were a strong component of the conversation Megan and I had about her thoughts on Reconciliation. Megan spoke passionately, and emotionally, about how affected the First Nations community has been by some of the awful treatment we’ve received historically since the colonisation of Australia.

But she stressed that she sees the responsibility of people such as herself, and other non-Indigenous Australians, is to do what they can to help close the gaps that First Nations People experience today in their lives. To do more than talk about it but to do whatever can be done to assist – being kind and respectful, caring about others, and understanding of what they have been through. That by doing something as easy as a small commitment of volunteering for an hour or two they can make a difference.

She also feels passionate about acknowledging the traditional custodians of our beautiful Country, acknowledging the past, the trauma, and impacts to individuals and families. That this truth telling and understanding of the impacts that are still felt today for First Nations People’s is an important step needed so that we can work together to closing the gap experienced between our people and the wider community.

How did Megan feel winning the Aunty Yvonne Gilchrist Reconciliation Award?

Megan was extremely honoured just to be nominated! She was really touched as well and felt that it was extra special that Council had organised for Aunty Yvonne’s family members, James and Natasha, to be on hand to present the award to her and Colette. When you consider Aunty Yvonne’s passion to help others in the education field, and community development, it was especially significant to Megan because she believes that this work done by Elders like Aunty Yvonne will continue to inspire and impact the community for generations to come.

Megan also expressed her thanks and gratitude to Aunty Yvonne’s family for the honour of being a recipient and felt such privilege to be selected alongside Colette as well. Megan wanted to also acknowledge being part of such an amazing group of award nominees and awards recipients.

I’ve only known Megan since I began my work here at WWCC but she has become a close friend and while she is humble about what she does each day within the community, I too felt honoured to be able to speak at the NAIDOC ball and help present the award to Megan alongside James and Natasha.

Some of the other contributions Megan does within the community also includes being a member of the Wagga NAIDOC Committee, where she has currently volunteered her time as Treasurer for the past two years, as well as helps organise sponsorships, donations, and fundraisers. She also assists with events such as the Marramarra Aboriginal Markets.

However, when I asked Megan about what stands out to her the most with her work in the community, Megan spoke about how special it has been for her to be able to meet so many strong First Nations people while working within the community. Megan greatly appreciates the trust that the community show in her by sharing their personal stories. During these chats with the community Megan gets to be a kind, and compassionate, ear to listen to them and then if they need any assistance, she can help refer them to the services that will best support them.