Katanning Noongar Centre KAARL Yarning and Koreng Art and Culture Centre opens after five years
The brand new Katanning Noongar Centre was revealed on Thursday morning to about 120 people, after five years of hard work by the centre's board and Shire of Katanning to create a safe place for conversation, storytelling and connection.
The purpose-built meeting place was backed by a $92,000 contribution from the State Government.
A welcome to country by elder David Williams started the event at 11am, followed by guest speakers — Shire of Katanning president Kristy D'Aprile and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Don Punch. Mr Punch and Regional Development Minister Stephen Dawson then cut the ribbon.
The outdoor area named KAARL Yarning — KAARL meaning fire in Noongar — features a covered shelter, fire pit and landscaping and pathways. It will host cultural ceremonies, performances and festivals while being an accessible space for all to enjoy daily.
The Koreng Art and Culture Centre will display and teach all forms of art including dress, painting, dancing and more.
Katanning Aboriginal Corporation chair Wendy Hayden said it was a privilege to have the ministers attend because it 'made our people feel important', plus they had purchased art pieces displayed at the centre to hang in their office.
The centre's initiation involved storytelling, live music by John Ford and cultural food provided by local First Nations business Jeert Mia.
Ms Hayden said they wanted to build a dedicated space for everyone in the community, Indigenous or non-Ingenious, to gather, heal, share stories and learn from one another.
'It's important to us to have a meeting place for our people, we want to create this safe space and a fire brings everyone together,' she said.
'A place to establish a good, strong relationship with the youth, mothers, men and elders.
'The goal is to work with the shire council, it's a new thing but it's time it happened. We're not rewriting the past but starting a new journey where we will walk side by side.
'It's important for our people to be occupied, needed and part of the bigger picture.'
The property's land was once a camping area for Noongar mobs and Ms Hayden said 'it is a significant place of identity' and hoped to transform the entire block, including along the river.
This latest development is part of the State Government's $15.72 million Katanning Heritage Centre investment, which included rejuvenating the town centre, advancing the Piesse Lake development, welcome precinct, botanic garden and recreation area.
Mr Dawson said the opening was significant for the region.
'I congratulate the Katanning community for recognising the need, having the vision and seeing it through to fruition,' he said.
'This is a space that will grow with the community, and I look forward to seeing how it continues to evolve.
'The Cook Government is proud to support the Katanning Heritage Centre project which has delivered funding for a range of developments for the town to ensure it's a great place to live and visit.'
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He began at Tumut rodeo in southern NSW after working with his drover father to break in rogues for farmers to ride. By 14, Mr Holder had little interest in calming the animals. He much preferred the wild ones. "I really like bucking horses ... so I thought, 'I'm gonna be a cowboy'," he said. "It gives you a thrill to stay on them, they're tough. "I love a horse that gets right up in the air and really bucks." In his first decade of competing, Mr Holder was a regular feature on the pages of the Cootamundra Herald, which proudly tracked his every move in the rodeo world. He made page two in a 1954 edition for winning a bareback championship and earned the affectionate description of "our local roughrider" when he set out for Queensland's Warwick Rodeo later that year. One of his early wins was relegated to the end of a story about a rare "lady rider" under the headline, Girl Rider Delights Rodeo Crowd. Mr Holder has seen plenty of welcome changes in the sport since those days, including the specialised breeding of rodeo horses that are treated with the same reverence as thoroughbred racers. After suffering minor riding injuries in his 50s and 60s, Mr Holder's peers urged him to retire. "They'd say, 'You have to give it up, you shouldn't be doing this kind of thing at your age'. "Oh, go away - it was a couple of broken bones, that's all." He has outridden those pleas by four decades and missed only one Mount Isa Rodeo in his storied career. "It's the best rodeo in Australia and any outdoor rodeo in the world. "It's well-run, perfect bucking stock, all spectators can get a hell of a good view, nobody can miss anything or get jammed in a corner. "You can't wish for anything better than that." The biggest rodeo in the southern hemisphere, itself a 65-year institution, was bolstered by a $1 million state government lifeline after it went into voluntary administration in late 2024. It prides itself on outback traditions, while giving young and Indigenous riders their start. Though Mr Holder has shared plenty of wisdom with those up-and-coming riders, their influence on him is just as vital. "You get too old, too quickly if you start mixing with older people," he said. "You mix with young people and you live longer."
