In 2014, Museums & Galleries’ IMAGinE Awards acknowledged a Special Award for the Lifetime Contribution to Aboriginal Culture in NSW

SPECIAL AWARD | Lifetime Contribution to Aboriginal Culture in NSW

Pastor Uncle Ossie Cruse

Pastor Uncle Ossie Cruse has devoted his life to the Aboriginal people of South East NSW. Since the establishment of the Bega Valley Aboriginal Advancement Association in 1968, Uncle Ossie has been actively involved with Aboriginal affairs, at a local, state, national and international level through the World Council of Indigenous Peoples.

Through Uncle Ossie’s vision and drive, the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council established the Monaroo Bobberrer Gudu Cultural Heritage Keeping Place in 1994. Built brick by brick by the local Aboriginal community, it includes a purpose built cultural centre with Indigenous interpretation and displays, meeting facilities, a commercial kitchen, large performance hall, outdoor amphitheatre and a cultural walk.

The Cultural Centre is the gateway to the Bundian Way, the first Aboriginal pathway to be listed on the NSW State Heritage Register. The Bundian Way, a project of the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council, is a shared history pathway between Targangal (Kosciuszko) and Bilgalera (Fisheries Beach) that connects the highest part of the Australian continent and the coast.

The first dedicated camp site on the new Bundian Way was opened in 2013 and further work is expected to be completed by the community in time for the arrival of cruise ships into Eden in 2015.

Pastor Uncle Ossie Cruise pictured (left) with ACHAA General Manager Steve Miller. Photograph by Mimi Kelly.