More than 250 people came together to celebrate the Goulburn Valley’s largest awards’ night specifically recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in education, employment and training at Riverlinks Eastbank.

Ganbina celebrated its twentieth Ganbina Youth Achievement Awards night with 255 guests, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families, community Elders, philanthropists and business leaders.

The awards’ night was a celebration of not only Indigenous excellence in education, training and employment, but also a celebration of the culture of the Yorta Yorta and Bangerang people, the Traditional Custodians of the Goulburn Valley.

The night began with a Welcome to Country by Yorta Yorta Elder Aunty Merle Miller, followed by a cultural welcome dance by the Kalithaban Dancers, while guests enjoyed a three course meal.

The Ganbina Youth Achievement Awards is an annual awards program open to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the Goulburn Valley and recognises excellence in education, employment and training.

It is the largest awards celebration of its kind in the Goulburn Valley region, and was originally born out of a need to highlight and celebrate the successes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. The awards have been shown to encourage and motivate local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to pursue their education, training and employment goals and recognises their hard work and dedication to their education and career aspirations. The awards also proudly demonstrate that our community are excelling and achieving remarkable things in their educational and professional journeys.

To be eligible for an award, nominees must be less than 25-years-old, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, from the Goulburn Valley and be actively engaged in full-time education, training or employment in 2024.

In total 34 awards were given out on the night, which consisted of five education awards for Year 7, four education awards for each year level in Year 8-12, four awards for training, four awards for employment and one Adrian Appo OAM Youth of the Year award.

The Adrian Appo OAM Youth of the Year Award is awarded to the overall highest scoring youth of the year. The winner of this award is not announced until the award’s night.

Charlie Payne is the 2024 recipient of the Adrian Appo OAM Youth of the Year Award. Ms Payne is in Year 11 at Numurkah Secondary College. She has won multiple academic awards and is vice house captain for sports. She has also undergone placement training through TAFE this year, where she volunteered at Numurkah Hospital’s aged care ward and is a participant in Ganbina’s Youth Leadership Program. She aspires to become a medic in the Australian Defence Force when she finishes Year 12.

“I feel really proud of myself and that we have something that recognises Indigenous youth and their achievements,” Ms Payne said. “It was a great surprise (winning Youth of the Year). It really shows the hard work I’ve put in has paid off, and if I work hard it will pay off,” she said.

Ganbina General Manager Jean Miller-Fowler said this year’s awards were an outstanding success and the fact it was now in its twentieth year demonstrated the need for awards like this for the Goulburn Valley’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

“We are incredibly proud of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. These awards demonstrate how dedicated Indigenous young people are to achieving their goals in education, employment and training and shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people can succeed,” she said.

GANBINA YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS – 2024

EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS

Recognising outstanding achievement in full-time education

YEAR 7

Angel Gava

Benjamin Ward

Brooke Fowler

Izabella Atkinson

Leighton McLennan

 

YEAR 8

Casaidon Joachim

George-Marbi Nicholson

Taneesha Atkinson

Tyler Knight

 

YEAR 9

Bridget Cooper

Corey Colger

David Campbell

Hailey-May Paton

 

YEAR 10

David Beckhurst

Logan Falla

Poppy Watson

Rhianna Ward

 

YEAR 11

Blayne O’Brien

Charlie Payne

Cody Fairless

Mya Falla

 

YEAR 12

Ella Morgan

Grace Jones

Lincoln Atkinson

Savannah Payne

 

EMPLOYMENT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS

Recognising outstanding achievement in full-time employment, including traineeships and apprenticeships

Chenneil Fowler

Frances Atkinson

Ieashya Chapman

Tamieka Trimboli

TRAINING ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNERS

Recognising outstanding achievement in full-time training (training refers to enrolment in further education, i.e. Certificate IV or higher or university degree)

Hariyett Peters

Kady-Anne Paton

Kaidee Cooke

Kaitlyn Crowhurst

ADRIAN APPO OAM YOUTH OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNER

Charlie Payne