Centre Salutes Passion For Education

20160704 IKC Opening — Paying tribute to the late Winifred Fisher were, from left, Laurie Bond, Ada Simpson, Tarita Fisher and Jacquie Malone

July 6, 2016

Cherbourg’s new Winifred Fisher Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) was officially opened on Monday at the start of the town’s NAIDOC Week celebrations.

The IKC is housed in the renovated Maternal and Child Welfare Clinic building on the corner of Barambah Avenue.

It is a cross between a library and a resource centre for members of the Cherbourg community – and it joins 20 similar IKCs operating across Queensland.

The Cherbourg facility replaces a smaller centre which had been based at Cherbourg State School but closed in 2011.

Cherbourg Council will be responsible for the building’s upkeep and day-to-day operations of the IKC, while the State Library of Queensland will contribute financial support, collections of library materials and professional development.

Mr Ron Weatherall, the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, officially declared the centre open.

He said the community should be very proud of the new facility.

Mr Weatherall said it was “a place of knowledge and learning”, a place “to read, write and communicate; a place for all ages”.

Cherbourg mayor Arnold Murray said it would also become a “technology hub” for the community, where residents would also be able to do internet banking or look for a job, as well as learn about culture.

Several community members shared stories about working at Cherbourg State School with “Aunty Winnie”, after whom the new IKC has been named.

Cherbourg Elder Aunty Ada Simpson said Winifred had a passion about education and teaching Cherbourg children, and the new centre was a way of keeping her memory alive.

Cherbourg Health Service Manager Tarita Fisher said her grandmother, who died in 1984, knew the importance of education to pave the way for a better future, and used to run a library in the back of the old Welfare Hall.