Chief Executive Officer of Worn Gundidj, John Collyer, at Tower Hill. Image courtesy of Tourism Australia.

The Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative (Worn Gundidj) was established with a charter to provide training and employment opportunities for local Indigenous people, and to develop business enterprises that benefit the community.

Worn Gundidj operate the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve (external website, new window), a popular tourist attraction located near Warnambool in regional Victoria.

Tower Hill  is one of 13 Indigenous tourism businesses selected to participate in the Indigenous Tourism Champions Program, a joint initiative between IBA and Tourism Australia.

Located near Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, Tower Hill sits within a vast volcano crater that is 11km in circumference and 3.2km wide. The unique 614 hectare property is made up of smaller volcanic cones rising from a lake bed inside a large crater rim, and offers a natural wildlife haven and fascinating ecological showcase for Aboriginal history. It is regarded as an international geological site of significance, and its ash layers and artefacts confirm Aboriginal residence in the area up to 30,000 years ago.

Visitors to the reserve can experience a range of activities including a uniquely Australian barbeque meal of native foods and spices, Indigenous cultural activities (involving traditional crafts and games, boomerang and spear throwing) and visits to bush food and bush medicine sites.

Sky Taikato and Paul Kelly from Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve accepting the 2010 Dardi Award for Worn Gundidj. Image courtesy of Wayne Quilliam Photography.

John Collyer, Chief Executive Officer of Worn Gundidj, attributes the appeal of Tower Hill to the extensive local knowledge and enthusiasm of its staff, all of whom have a personal interest in and connection to the area.

Worn Gundidj was recently awarded the Victorian Aboriginal Community Enterprise category of the 2010 Dardi Victorian Aboriginal Business Excellence Awards (external website, opens new window). The award acknowledged the significant training and employment opportunities that Worn Gundidj has created in the region, its promotion of Aboriginal culture both in Australia and abroad, and the success of Tower Hill.