Lorenzo Kerinaiua

Wurrumiyanga, NT

My name is Lorenzo Kerinaiua.

I am a Traditional Owner for Wurrumiyanga. My skin group is Warntarringini (Sun)

I finished school in year 10, and started working with the Catholic Mission in the early 1980’s. After this I went to work at the Council when it was the Nguiu Council (now it is Tiwi Island Regional Council). There I was the coordinator for Tiwi Island local government, and I worked looking after the town area during CDP time, as manger for the town service boys maintaining the community. Around 2010, they put me down to the boat shed as a manager in 2010, but after a while I returned to Town Services.

In 2022, I went to Red Cross where I worked as a Community Development Officer, looking after the remote holiday program, and the youth program with the kids, and running activities.

We travelled to Milikapiti and Garden point for the remote holiday program with some Red Cross staff from down south. We took them out bush, with 4-5 kids. First, we sat down telling stories. Then the next day we drove down to Milikapiti (Snake Bay), and that is where we had activities with the kids 28-29 kids. When we got there and stared doing activitiesm all the kids just stared to turn up. The local ladies had some kids there doing tie-dying of t-shirts, so Red Cross bought the t-shirts and gave them away for free.

At Red Cross I was helping facilitate the Skin Group forum. We brought some old and young people together, to talk and do mediation. We would also have the police there, to prevent any violence. We would listened to the stories of both parties, and at the end of the day, we would tell them whatever happened leave it ‘here’, and apologise to each other.

This year I retired from Red Cross, but I got sick and tired sitting at home. So I went for a job back at the boat shed, and now I am a full-time worker there.

Alongside this, I have also been asked by directors of the Mantiyupwi family trust to work with CDU as a researcher.

I have 3 girls who are all grown up now, two are married, one is single. I have 7 grand kids.

Research Projects: