Deniliquin's champion of culture

An Order of Australia confers the highest recognition for Australians, for a particularly meritorious service. 

Mrs Crew’s extensive history in public service and indigenous affairs was recognised, with her incredible career and work spanning over 50 years.

Mrs Crew has continually fought for the preservation of Aboriginal land and history, and the continued sharing of knowledge of Aboriginal culture.

While this is not the first time Mrs Crew has been recognised for her efforts — having previously been awarded the 2017 NSW Museums and Galleries Imagine Award for a lifetime contribution to

Aboriginal culture among other local awards — she said she was still a little surprised to learn she would receive an OAM.

‘‘When I read the news (in an email), I felt surprised, humbled, embarrassed — literally all of those things,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s nice to have your work acknowledged, but of course that’s not what you do it for.’’

Mrs Crew grew up on Moonahcullah, 50km north west of Deniliquin, spending her early years on the Aboriginal mission until the community was forcibly moved into Deniliquin in 1961. 

Despite the adversity and racial discrimination she faced, she soon made strides for advocacy for Aboriginal affairs and the sharing of Aboriginal culture.

Mrs Crew broke ground in many aspects of her career. 

She was the first women’s cultural heritage sites officer, the first and only Aboriginal Landcare coordinator in NSW, and the inaugural coordinator of Deniliquin Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Mrs Crew has also been a member of Aboriginal advisory committees for both the Australian Museum and Murray Local Land Services, and she was also a member of the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Aboriginal relics unit in the 1970s.

Mrs Crew is most well known locally for her role in helping to establish the Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre in Deniliquin in 2003, and has held a leadership role ever since.

She works in this sphere beside her husband David Crew, who is Yarkuwa’s CEO.

Yarkuwa’s aims are to collate and maintain cultural heritage and environmental information as it relates to Wamba Wamba and Perrepa Perrepa country, provide an educational service to the wider community including schools and community groups, and engage in negotiations with local, state and federal governments and other agencies on matters relating to culture, heritage and the environment.     

It also provides the means for members to develop skills that will allow them to be involved in the provision of educational and research services and to acquire and hold title to land and water for the purposes of economic and cultural development.

Yarkuwa was born from a family history project, which also inspired the name of the organisation.

‘‘Yarkuwa means to search over great distance in our language,’’ Mrs Crew said.

‘‘It’s important to continually pass on information, knowledge, and experience to the next generation — for everyone, not just Aboriginal people.’’

That role extends to preserving the environment for future generations, she said.

‘‘No matter where you do your land care, it’s still Aboriginal land. The other things are superimposed over that,’’ she said.

‘‘Working in land claims, it’s constructive seeing the land come back (to the Aboriginal people).’’

In that vein, Mrs Crew said she’s particularly proud of the work being done to transfer ownership of the Werai forest, situated 50km north west of Deniliquin, to the local traditional owners.

This work has been ongoing since 2011.

‘‘The hard part is setting up new bodies for this and going on with this process, but having the forest handed back to us has been huge,’’ Mrs Crew said.Yarkuwa, under Mrs Crew’s leadership, has also been a significant contributor to the Deniliquin Kolety Lagoon Landcare Group, and actively involved in rehabilitating the lagoon system through Deniliquin.

Mrs Crew has particularly been involved in a soon-to-be-started project at the Werrpanakata Fish Park — in Brown’s Park off Hardinge St, behind Deniliquin TAFE — which will specifically highlight local Aboriginal culture.

‘‘The island behind the TAFE is dedicated to culturally significant plants and infrastructure, surrounded by a wetlands,’’ she said.

‘‘It’s about information and education. For example we will plant a range of food and medicine plants.

‘‘We also have plans to build a covered outdoor learning area there, will will be a educational facility, particularly on Wamba Wamba Perrepa Perrepa culture, and also a social meeting place.’’

The COLA will be created using curved eco board, shaped to represent a coolamon, or bark bowl, and will surround a fire pit.