Land provided for Aboriginal language centre

An agreement between the State Government and the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre in South Hedland would help ensure the centre's continued success, Lands Minister Brendon Grylls said today.

Mr Grylls approved a conditional transfer of the land on which the centre was built to the Wangka Maya community organisation for its continued use as a language centre.

The Minister also approved the allocation of an additional 5,000sqm of land next to the centre for the group to develop a small cultural precinct, including an art gallery.

"Wangka Maya has done an extraordinary job in developing the centre as a language, culture and history complex and it has provided some great benefits for people in the region since it was finished in December 2008," he said.

"The centre provides an essential community service, preserving the Aboriginal language and culture for future generations."

Mr Grylls said the centre's services included recording, analysing and preserving the Pilbara's indigenous languages; translating and interpreting services for indigenous people who don't speak English; and recording historical and cultural information such as songs, stories and images.

The centre also provided a service that reconnected the Pilbara and Gascoyne indigenous people to their families and had developed cross-cultural awareness training programs.

The Minister said that providing the Wangka Maya Aboriginal Corporation with conditional freehold of the land ensured its continued use as a language centre.

"Under the transfer conditions, the land can only be used for this purpose," he said.

"The corporation is a non-profit group and this change will help ensure they can continue to provide the existing services without the concern of continually having to raise the money for rent."