Local business Mountain Path Meadows marked National Reconciliation Week in Australia recently by shining the spotlight on indigenous-owned businesses and First Nations artists and creators in South Australia’s Limestone Coast.
The local indigenous-owned businesses and First Nations artists/creators highlighted were Pumpundi by MJ, Aunty Penny Bonney and Windyagarn.
Pumpundi by MJ was started by Mount Gambier-based 13-year-old Mabel, who is proudly Boandik and Gunditjmara.
Pumpundi, meaning “wild cherry,” is Mabel’s traditional name.
Mabel started a kindness campaign called Undercover Kindness, doing random acts of kindness for and within her mob.
Mabel has now branched out and created her own business, Pumpundi by MJ, selling hand-poured scented candles.
Aunty Penny Bonney is a proud Elder of the Moandik, Meintangk and Narrungga people and is a celebrated musician and artist.
She was born in Kingston into a large family of eight brothers and four sisters.
Her father was Phillip Bonney from Kingston and her mother Constance Wanganeen was from Point Pearce mission on Yorke Peninsula.
Yawuri Penny Bonney’s great grandmother known as Queen Ethel Watson née Whimpy was the last traditional full blood Aboriginal woman to reside in Kingston and passed away in 1954.
Yawuri Penny released her debut single in 2021 to recognise the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
She originally wrote the song titled “Only Brother Knows” in 2004 which was inspired by her brother who passed away in custody in 1990.
Just this year in February, Aunty Penny was featured on The Project, telling the Craitbul story, which explains how WarWar (Blue Lake) and Mount Schank came to be.
Windyigarn Natural Skin Care was created in January 2022, after intense testing to create the best quality natural and clinically active based skin care line possible.
Windyigarn is 100% Aboriginal owned, and family operated, and believes in sharing traditional culture with those willing to receive it, by using natural skin care based on thousands of years of cultural heritage and knowledge.
Aboriginal artist turned formulator, Bianka Carson had her own skin issues and after using product after product, she turned to the stories told to her as a child, around Aboriginal Bush Medicine and protecting the land.
