Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation

Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation is a community-led organisation established in 2013 by survivors of the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls, a place where First Nations girls were forcibly removed from their families under the Aborigines Protection Act (1909-1969). The Corporation is governed by a Board of Directors made up of these survivors and their descendants, and it operates from a significant location at Central Railway Station in Sydney on Gadigal Country, a site deeply connected to the history of the Stolen Generations.

Mission and Vision

The Corporation’s mission is to address the complex healing needs of Stolen Generations Survivors, their families, and descendants by providing culturally safe, survivor-led support that fosters social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Its vision is to promote reconnection to culture, Country, and community, while advocating for truth-telling, education, and systemic change to acknowledge and heal the intergenerational trauma caused by forced removals.

Main Objectives

• Support the social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of Coota Girls Survivors and their families through practical and holistic services.
• Reconnect survivors with their culture, mob, Country, and language, including spiritual and traditional healing supports.
• Educate the broader community about the impacts of the Stolen Generations through truth-telling sessions, exhibitions, films, and educational resources.
• Advocate for policy and systemic reforms with government and non-government agencies to address unfinished business related to the Stolen Generations.
• Preserve the history of the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home and maintain a digital archive of survivor stories and research.

Benefiting Groups

The primary beneficiaries are Stolen Generations Survivors from the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home, their biological siblings, descendants including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as the wider First Nations community affected by intergenerational trauma.

Services and Activities

• Healing and support services tailored to meet the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of survivors and families.
• Community gatherings and collective healing events that foster connection and cultural revitalisation.
• Trauma-informed networks specifically designed for Stolen Generations members.
• Truth-telling and education programs to raise awareness and understanding of the Stolen Generations’ history and ongoing impacts.
• Advocacy and case support assisting survivors in navigating government services including child protection, legal, housing, health, domestic violence, addiction, aged care, and disability services.
• Preservation and archival projects to document survivor stories and maintain the legacy of the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home.