Suzanne Lazaroo
16 June 2026: Launched last week, the UC Yarning Circle will provide University of Canberra students and staff with a unique outdoor learning, meeting and event space, while honouring First Nations traditions and strengthening connection to Country.
Set in the Ngaladjima Garden adjacent to the Library and the Ngunnawal Centre, the UC Yarning Circle features concentric seating of recycled wood and local Wee Jasper stone radiating outwards from a central rock basin. The basin can serve as a fire vessel for a smoking ceremony.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Michelle Lincoln said that the UC Yarning Circle is a tangible demonstration of the University’s commitment to Reconciliation, “as well as to our commitment to work in partnership with the Ngunnawal community, and with Indigenous communities more broadly”.
“We dedicate this space, along with the surrounding Ngaladjima Garden, to the Traditional Owners, in appreciation of their care of this land for tens of thousands of years,” she said.
As a learning and teaching space, the UC Yarning Circle can be booked for classes and activities. Professor Lincoln also anticipates it being a valuable meeting space, including for the University’s decision-makers.
“I think it will bring a different kind of focus for us, a different way of viewing the world as we go about making decisions on behalf of the University – and in particular, on behalf of our students,” she said.
The launch event marked the first week for the University’s incoming Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous, Professor Annette Gainsford, a proud Wiradjuri woman from Central West New South Wales, with ancestral ties to Wellington.
“What a privilege it is to come to UC and see such community involvement,” she said. “Creating this space is a great way to integrate Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous ways of knowing into everyday life at UC.
“The UC Yarning Circle invites cross-cultural engagement and will be a place of knowledge sharing and exchange, story-telling, yarning and learning beyond the classroom – as we we work together to journey towards a future of Reconciliation.”
Professor Gainsford commended the collaborators who had brought the space to fruition, including the Campus Estate team, with Talfryn Davies from the Strategic Planning taking point on this project, and Ngunnawal Centre Manager Tamara Chatfield, whose vision sparked the idea of the Yarning Space.
“I think our Indigenous staff and students will be so proud of this place – and will also invite others into this circle for sharing and deep listening,” Professor Gainsford said.
The UC Yarning Circle received funding from the Indigenous Student Success Program (ISSP); it was designed by landscape architect Jane Irwin F AILA RLA in consultation with First Nations stakeholders, and brought to life by the Campus Estate team, Brindabella Project Management, Circle Constructions, Thor’s Hammer, and Wee Jasper Bluestone.
