E-Bisglobal, a 30-year-old print management, procurement and software company based at Tuggerah in NSW, has transitioned to being an Aboriginal-owned business.
This year E-Bisglobal founder and executive director, Paul Freeman, learned for the first time about this Aboriginal heritage after discovering that his great-great-grandmother was the last remaining native Australian woman in the Liverpool district in the 1880s.
He also learned that his family belonged to the Cabrogal Clan of the Dharug Nation, which occupied land along the Georges River for more than 30,000 years.
A ceremony was held to mark the occasion during NAIDOC Week with Freeman’s daughters Emma Powney and Catherine Gibson, E-Bisglobal’s sales and marketing director, and grandchildren in attendance.
Mr Freeman said the transition marks a significant milestone for the company.
“Being formally recognised as an indigenous company will be an enormous benefit to our long-established government clients who are required, as part of the Reconciliation Action Plan, to spend a percentage of their outsourced project funds on indigenous businesses,” he said.
While there are no plans to rebrand the company, Mr Freeman intends to offer employment opportunities, scholarships and traineeships to young indigenous people on the Central Coast, home to one of Australia’s fastest growing Aboriginal populations.
“We aim to work closely with Bara Barang through their employment, training and career pathway programs, which connect young Aboriginal people on the Central Coast with the right employers in a culturally sensitive way,” he said.
Freeman is planning to retire from the business but remain Chairman of the Board.
“I am proud to be Aboriginal and believe it is a wonderful legacy to leave to my children and grandchildren,” he said.
The occasion was celebrated last week during NAIDOC Week and featured a flag raising and traditional smoking ceremony conducted by Darkinjung Elder, Uncle Gavi Duncan.
This was also attended by staff and a number of special guests, including local MP for Wyong, David Harris and members of the Barang Regional Alliance which supports local Aboriginal groups on the NSW Central Coast.
The theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week was Always Was, Always Will Be, which acknowledges and celebrate’s Australia’s true history.
Picture:
Front Row, L-R Corinne Hodson, Uncle Gavi Duncan, Glenda Simpson
Back Row, L-R David Harris MP, Paul Freeman, Vickie Parry, Gary Field, Andrew Malloch
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