Willum Warrain is an Aboriginal Gathering Place in Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula, one and a half hour’s drive south of Melbourne. We are run by a 100% community-elected Aboriginal Board. The focus of the gathering place is on providing free cultural programs and cultural events for our local Aboriginal community throughout the year. To this end, we are a whole of organisation charity with DGR status. We are also regarded locally as a destination for reconciliation – many of our events are open to the public. We have many non-Indigenous allies and supporters who visit us annually, over 12,000 did last financial year!

In 2020, our Aboriginal community identified the need for us to diversify our revenue streams beyond government and philanthropy funding. Two social enterprises were subsequently established, Cultural Tours and a Bush Nursery.

We secured a grant from the Department of Agriculture, via the Djakitjuk Djanga program (“Food from Country” in Dja Dja Wurrung) which enabled us to purchase some initial infrastructure and begin employing Aboriginal staff. This was the start of Willum Warrain’s Bush Nursery. It was steep learning curve, setting up a horticultural operation, training staff and overcoming some of the challenges and complexities involved in native plant propagation. From these humble beginnings, over the last 6 years, our Bush Nursery grown in scale, proficiency and professionalism, of which our Aboriginal community is immensely proud.

Along the way, 28 Aboriginal staff have been employed in total including 14 under the age of 21. The social impact of the Nursery, especially in providing training and employment opportunities for young Aboriginal people, including school leavers, has been significant.

Over the establishment phase of our Nursery, we have been supported by many philanthropies who believed in our vision. We definitely wouldn’t be where we are today without their vital assistance.

These have included: –

• Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
• Annamilla Foundation
• Sustainable Table
• Igniting Change
• Victorian Women’s Trust/ The Union of Australian Women (Victoria) Sub-fund
• Amrita Australia
• Matthew Faiman Family Foundation/ Seedling Giving
• Outback Academy

Service Stream has provided certainty for our Nursery over the last four years with a significant annual contract supplying local plants for their Peninsula Link freeway revegetation program.

The Mornington Peninsula Shire has also been a wonderful supporter of our Aboriginal community over many years including specifically the Bush Nursery. In 2022, our Gathering Place lease was doubled in size to two hectares. At this point, the footprint of our Nursery expanded significantly. In 2025, we were able to move into our current premises and access extensive shedding, toilets and new horticultural facilities.

This financial year (2025/26), we have also been fortunate enough to have obtained a Department of Social Services, Social Enterprise Development Initiative grant which has enabled us to tap into the expertise of Worthy Creative, Zoe Robinson Photography and SEDO Group.

Now, as a result, we have in place: –

• A dedicated Bush Nursery website
• Promotional films targetting retail and corporate customers
• Business plan, Social Impact Measurement Framework, a Social Procurement Strategy and a Capability statement.