On 1 July 2015, an agreement struck between the Directors of Adjumarllarl Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the community of Gunbalanya with the West Arnhem Regional Council saw the community store finally transferred back to community ownership.
The transfer finally brings to an end years of frustration for members of the community, angry that the introduction of the West Arnhem Regional Council on 1 July 2008 also meant that their local store was now held by that organisation as one of its assets.
After years of negotiations between Adjumarllarl Aboriginal Corporation and the Council, instructions were finally given by the Council in June 2015 to facilitate the transfer of the Gunbalanya Community Store to the Corporation. Importantly, the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation will continue to manage the store on behalf of the Corporation. To celebrate the transfer, a community open day was held on Wednesday, 22 July 2015, which was attended by senior representatives of the traditional Aboriginal owners, being the Mandjulngunj Mengerrdji clan group, the broader community, Directors of the Corporation and key management staff from the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation.

Throughout the negotiations and transfer process Bowden McCormack acted on behalf of the Corporation, and was pleased to be able to assist the Chair and Directors in their achievement of a tremendously successful outcome. Bowden McCormack now looks forward to working with the Board of Directors as they grow their store business and seek to explore and take advantage of other opportunities within the community.

Gunbalanya in the 1970’s (PDF File)