Acknowledgment of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the Lands throughout South Australia.

We respect and support their spiritual relationship with Country and connection to their land, waters and community.

As an organisation that is passionate about creating a better future for all South Australians, we are committed to working with First Nations peoples to ensure Culture and Country is respected in everything we do and is represented through our people and projects.

Our vision for reconciliation

Renewal SA’s vision for reconciliation is one where Culture and Country are fully interwoven with property and development; where our shared history connects us to place and is a source of pride.

Our vision is about strengthening respect for First Nations cultures and forging genuine partnerships to create meaningful social, cultural and economic change.

As the state government’s urban development agency, we are seeking to become a leader of reconciliation within South Australia’s property and development sector. Reconciliation is one of our strategic foundations and we recognise and respect the Traditional Owners of the land on which we live and will work together to deliver our Reconciliation Action Plan.

Our commitment to reconciliation

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We represent an industry inescapably tied to the land. We know that each of our projects are located on land that has been nurtured by First Nations peoples for thousands of years.

In 2019, Renewal SA formally committed to reconciliation by joining Reconciliation Australia’s RAP program. We undertook a Reflect RAP, which was an important first step to prepare our organisation for the development and delivery of meaningful and sustainable reconciliation initiatives.

We undertook the next part of our reconciliation journey through our Innovate RAP (March 2022 – March 2024). This RAP outlined a series of actions and deliverables that has helped us take our commitment to reconciliation from aspiration to reality. We will be undertaking an additional Innovate RAP in the near future.

We are committed to working with First Nations peoples to bring the best elements of Culture and Country to the fore and delivering those through our projects.

Our Reconciliation Action Plan Artwork | YALTANA YARTA

Our RAP artwork was created by local Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, Yankunytjatjara artist, Allan Sumner.

In 2020, 42 Renewal SA staff attended a series of co-design workshops, sharing their understanding and ideas of what they wanted our RAP artwork to represent.

Allan considered this and what is important to our organisation and created “Yaltana Yarta” - Fresh Country. Yaltana meaning “Fresh or New”, Yarta meaning “Land or Country”.

This artwork is about Renewal SA and First Nations people working together, learning together, sitting down at the same table together and planning the future landscape of South Australia.

Additionally:

Blue represents the water in the landscape which gives life to all things.
Green represents our environment and caring for Country.
The eight larger circular campsites represent Renewal SA’s growing organisation across South Australia.
The four smaller outer campsites represent First Nations communities across South Australia.
The bottom right campsite represents First Nations women and their voices in our communities.
The bottom left campsite represents First Nations men and their voices in our communities.
The two campsites at the top represent the coming together of Renewal SA and First Nations communities to celebrate diversity and joint achievements.

Reconciliation cultural advisors

We have engaged external First Nations Cultural Advisors from community to provide cultural knowledge and guidance to support the implementation of our Innovate RAP.

Aunty Yvonne Agius

Reconciliation Cultural Advisor

Aunty Yvonne Agius is an Esteemed Elder of both Kaurna and Narungga descent.

Aunty Yvonne worked as a public servant for over 40 years and an Aboriginal foster carer and educator of the younger generations about the past. She has shown great commitment to the preservation of Aboriginal heritage and has extensive experience representing a range of community groups that deal with heritage, Native Title, Nunga courts and the Granny’s Group, displaying a great commitment to reconciliation between First Nations peoples.

She is the Dual Chairperson of the City of Adelaide’s Reconciliation Committee and previous Vice-Chairperson of the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee.

Uncle Frank Wangutya Wanganeen

Uncle Frank is a Kaurna/Narungga man born at Wallaroo on the Yorke Peninsula and raised at Point Pearce Mission. With over 30 years of service, Uncle Frank has contributed to committees focused on reconciliation, local government, Aboriginal heritage, native title, social justice, and Kaurna language revival.

A respected cultural educator, he works with students and institutions to promote awareness of Kaurna heritage and Aboriginal issues. His contributions extend to Aboriginal health through SAHMRI and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Uncle Frank’s commitment has been widely recognised receiving the Premier’s NAIDOC Award in 2017, being named City of Salisbury Citizen of the Year in 2021, and recently earning the 2024 Lord Mayor’s NAIDOC Award for his outstanding achievement, service, and contribution to reconciliation in the City of Adelaide. He also leads Kaurna cultural walking tours in the Adelaide CBD, raising the importance of walking country, heritage, and Aboriginal issues.

Jess Davies-Huynh

Reconciliation Cultural Advisor

Jess is a proud Kaurna woman of both Aboriginal and German-Australian heritage, who was born and raised on Kaurna Country. She is a direct descendant of Rathoola, one of the original apical ancestors of the Kaurna nation, and also has family connections to the Ngarrindjeri nation.

Jess is passionate about supporting self‑determination for Aboriginal peoples and their communities. As a young woman, she began following in the footsteps of her grandfather in pursuing Native Title rights for the Kaurna people. She has held leadership and advisory positions on several boards and working groups including the Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation, Adelaide Parklands Authority and the Aboriginal Reference Group for Lot Fourteen.

Jess currently works at the National Indigenous Australians Agency, where she undertakes community engagement across the urban Adelaide region and supports reforms under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. She enjoys spending her free time with family, including her husband and their beautiful toddler.

Our reconciliation action plan

Reconciliation Committee

With a clear mandate set by the Executive Team, the Reconciliation Committee is responsible for initiating, implementing and driving all activities associated with the Innovate RAP. Importantly, this committee will remain in place to oversee the continuing implementation of the developed action register.