About Us
Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation (Home or House of Language) is the name of the Language Centre in Tennant Creek.
The area covered by the Language Centre is over 2500 kilometers squares. From Borroloola in the north to Barrow Creek in the south, the Western Australia Border in the west to the Queensland border in the east (one of the biggest areas covered by a language Centre in the Northern Territory).
Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation (PAK) was established since 1987 and was registered with the Office of Aboriginal Registrar in November 1987. PAK has always aided in the local community in all cultural and language issues. Our main objective is to record, revive and retrieve the Language and Culture of the Barkly Region. We obtain this in several different ways. We employ speakers of the languages of the Barkly Region and service many Languages.
We were a Community Development Employment Program (CDEP) organisation until July 2009 and unique as we were the first, and the only Language and Cultural Centre in Australia that was operating a CDEP.
We were one of the most successful CDEP’s in Australia.
We were one of two organisations’ that were successful in obtaining tri-annual funding from MILR in 2009.
Our Board of Management is made up of members from all over the Barkly region and to give all a say our constitution has been adapted to enable communities to vote for people in there region/ward to represent the language speakers of the region/ward on our Board of Management.
Our vision is to record, restore and revive the Languages of the Barkly Region and to promote employment and economic opportunities and training pathways for the Indigenous people through various programs, enterprises and in particular new media and multimedia technology.
"To leave Language footprints across the Barkly Region."
Our Logo
In 2001 Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation held a competition to design a new logo for our use in all aspects of our organisation. The competition was a great success and attracted many applicants. The designs were judged, and all applicants’ names were withheld until the decision was made and the best design chosen by the judges. To everyone’s surprise when the envelope was opened for the design that was chosen, that it was Mrs. Judy Nixon’s.
The logo was then given to our media section to work on to make it ready for production use and it has been utilised since that day on all our uniforms, documents, and publications. We are proud to wear the logo that was designed by such an inspirational woman.
Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation (The Language Center) PAK is dedicated to keeping the memory of Mrs. Judy Nakkamarra Nixon alive and strong within our organisation and the wider community. A prominent Indigenous woman in Tennant Creek, Mrs. Nixon and her family members were involved in the establishment of many organisations and businesses that are still in operation today.
Mrs. Nixon and her family members were an integral part of establishing the Language Centre, and they continued to be key members and dedicated employees today. Mrs. Nixon was a founding member, serving in the Governing Board to provide guidance and direction. She began to work fulltime for the Language Center in 1997 until her passing in July 2013. Her tireless work alongside her elders is the reason we have such publications as the Warumungu Dictionary and a Learners Guide to Warumungu, amongst many others.
In 2019 PAK established the Mrs. Nakkamarra Nixon award for excellence in language preservation, awarded to an individual, family or community for outstanding work in preserving their language and culture. PAK has also named the newly extended training room the Mrs. Nakkamarra Nixon Learning Room, in her honour.
We are committed to keeping her memory alive, as her knowledge and wisdom has and will benefit all for generations to come and we thank Mrs. Nixon’s family for allowing us to continue to use the artwork/logo/products that encompasses everything Papulu Apparr-Kari Aboriginal Corporation stands for.
Committee Members
TBA
Chairperson
Patricia Frank
Tennant Creek Region
Michael Jones
Tennant Creek Region
Joseph Williams
Tennant Creek Region
Brenda Crafter
Central Tablelands Region
Sandra Jones Waistcoat
Borroloola & Gulf Region
Kade Green
Tennant Creek Region (Youth Delegate)
Frank Curtis
Southern Eastern Region
Our Staff
Chief Executive Officer
Karan Hayward
Chief Executive Officer
General Manager
Anita Mayers
Administration
Tennant Creek
Mahlie Fry
Nadine Bourchier
Efsta Konidaris
Jordan Gillard
Canteen Creek
Almanda Mick
Kathy Mick
Elliott
Miranda Bill
Karla Kingston
Eppenarra
Mirimum Beasley
Haylee Lewis
Ali Curung
Kashima Small
Charmaine Egan
Shawana Nelson
Tennant Creek
Paulina Ricky
Lucasta Rockland
Supervisor EEAI
Gine Age
Peter Foster
Baiden Dawson
Joseph Williams
Brenda Crafter
Supervisor EEAI - Ali Curung (Bush Trips)
Lorren Anderson
Jasmine Waistcoat
Donella Jones
Renelle Aplin
Supervisor EEAI
Andrew Dodd
Scott Braun
Cheryl Waistcoat
Anne-Marie Waistcoat
Alfred Lauder
Jameson Casson
Gloria Noonan
Shaun Dawson
