The Baaka Cultural Centre in Wilcannia has been recognised with the Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture Award at the 2025 Local Government Week Awards, celebrating a groundbreaking collaboration between Central Darling Shire Council and the local Aboriginal community.

The award acknowledges the centre's exceptional role in fostering cultural preservation and community development, highlighting how local government can drive meaningful place-based innovation and cultural revitalisation.

Funded by the Australian and NSW governments, the Baaka Cultural Centre serves as a vital hub for art, language preservation, tourism, and local leadership, specifically celebrating and preserving Barkandji culture in the far west of NSW.

The centre's innovative approach includes a dedicated language lab designed to help preserve local Aboriginal dialects, addressing the critical need to maintain linguistic heritage for future generations. This facility provides essential resources and space for language education and cultural transmission.

Artists from the region have found a new platform at the centre, with dedicated spaces to display their work and share their cultural expressions with both local community members and visitors from across Australia.

Beyond cultural preservation, the Baaka Cultural Centre project aims to create substantial employment and economic development opportunities for Aboriginal people in the region. This dual focus on cultural heritage and economic empowerment demonstrates a holistic approach to community development.

The centre's role in promoting inclusive regional growth has been particularly noted by the awards panel, recognising how cultural initiatives can drive broader community benefits while maintaining authentic connections to traditional practices and knowledge.

Tourism development is another key component of the centre's mission, positioning Wilcannia as a destination for cultural tourism while ensuring that economic benefits flow directly to the Aboriginal community.

Central Darling Shire Council's commitment to community service was further recognised at the awards, with the council named as a finalist in the Local Emergency Management Committee category for its comprehensive response to the 2024 power outage.

This recognition highlighted the collaborative efforts between various agencies in supporting residents during the emergency, demonstrating the council's capacity to coordinate effective multi-agency responses in challenging circumstances.

The council also received finalist recognition for its innovative use of social media, with its Facebook page for properties for sale earning acknowledgment in another category, showing how rural councils are embracing digital platforms to serve their communities more effectively.

The Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture Award win positions the Baaka Cultural Centre as a model for other communities seeking to balance cultural preservation with economic development.

The project demonstrates how partnerships between local government and Aboriginal communities can create lasting positive outcomes.

The centre's success in Wilcannia may inspire similar initiatives across regional NSW, particularly in communities with strong Aboriginal heritage looking to create sustainable cultural and economic development opportunities.

The award recognition comes at a time when cultural preservation and Aboriginal self-determination are increasingly recognised as essential components of Australia's social and economic development strategies.

The collaborative nature of the project, bringing together government funding, council support, and community leadership, exemplifies effective partnership approaches to addressing complex social and cultural challenges in regional Australia.

For Wilcannia, the award represents not just recognition of past achievements, but validation of an ongoing commitment to cultural preservation, community empowerment, and sustainable regional development that puts Aboriginal voices and leadership at the centre of decision-making processes.