Located on the NSW Central Coast in the heart of First Nations Darkinjung Country, NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Park has entered into a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council (DLALC).
Effective now until December 31, 2025, the MoU details plans for the First Nations community to work together with the team at NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Park in Umina to offer Indigenous tourism and cultural experiences to guests. The agreement’s broader context is to increase Aboriginal cultural education and tourism, employment and cultural capability at Ocean Beach.
The NSW Central Coast has one of the nation’s highest concentrations of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, making Ocean Beach an ideal fit for the first MoU signed between the NRMA and a local Aboriginal Council.
Essential to the MoU is a commitment on behalf of both NRMA and Darkinjung to work in genuine partnership to create a cultural landscape and a series of events and that will benefit both parties.
As part of the agreement, guests at Ocean Beach will have a chance to enjoy:
- Welcome to Country ceremonies
- Smoking ceremonies and dance group performances (where appropriate)
- Celebration of Reconciliation Week, NAIDOC Week and other events
- Culturally educational signage in the natural environment
- Cultural tours at the site or at selected sites across the Central Coast
- Storytelling and education
- Connection to other cultural events led by Darkinjung.
In turn, NRMA Ocean Beach Holiday Park will provide employment opportunities for Aboriginal people through traineeships and recruitment and actively seek procurement opportunities for local Aboriginal organisations and service providers.
Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council Chief Operating Officer Brendan Moyle said the signed MoU was the result of balanced negotiations and a real willingness to work together on behalf of both parties.
“We’re thrilled to have signed the MoU with the great team at Ocean Beach and look forward to working together and sharing our Aboriginal culture with the guests,” Mr Moyle said.
NRMA Parks and Resorts Chief Operating Officer Paul Davies said the MoU was an important achievement for the local community and more broadly for the organisation’s 2019 Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), which detailed its commitment to First Nations cultural heritage and enabling opportunities for employment.
“In 2022, NRMA’s focus is on fostering education and employment pathways as well as economic prosperity for First Nations peoples, while offering opportunities for our guests to learn more about local Aboriginal culture and make a personal connection with the local community,” Mr Davies said.
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