Learning on the job

At the Co-op

Alf Clint had always been a committed unionist and Peace campaigner and was just as committed in his support for greater civil and industrial rights for Aboriginal people. He campaigned for the Referendum in 1967 which finally supported the inclusion of Aboriginal people in the Census. Much of the funding for Tranby Co-operative came from unions, as well as some from the Board of Missions. The remainder of Tranby’s funds, however, had to be sourced from public donations, which had initially been done through sales of buttons featuring sad-looking Aboriginal children. With the rising political activism of the 1970s, Tranby had shifted its funding strategies to a more assertive style. The Co-op commissioned the artist and Lardil elder, Dick Roughsey, from Mornington Island, to design a badge which could be sold to raise independent funds for the adult education work of the Co-op, to be known as Operation Aborigine. His striking design showed the Lardil serpent spirit figure, Goorialla.

Kevin Cook was an organiser with the NSW Builders Labourers’ Federation when he began studying at Tranby. Kevin, Marcia Langton and others established the Black Defence Group, which met at Tranby and offered political support to communities campaigning for civil and land rights. In 1979, as a Tranby student, Kevin went to study for six months at the Coady Institute, meeting there many fellow activists from India, Latin America, South Africa and Zimbabwe with whom he was to remain in close touch throughout his life.

When Kevin became General Secretary at Tranby, the cooperative had come under more direct Aboriginal leadership, and soon after Bob Bellear, then a barrister and later judge, became the Chair of the Cooperative Board. Since 1975, however, Australian governments had insisted that to gain any government funding, Aboriginal communities wishing to set up enterprises had to structure themselves as companies, where voting power depends on how many shares you hold. Tranby continued to run as a cooperative but Cooperative Studies subjects became a segment of the Business Studies course, alongside teaching about company structure.

Tranby is managed by a Cooperative Board – and everyone who is a member of the Tranby Coop has an equal vote. The Board decides on policy and gives directions to the General Secretary – now called the Chief Executive Officer. The Coop is managed day to day by the General Secretary or CEO, who is supported by administration staff and the Coop runs the many teaching and learning programs offered by Tranby. The Minutes of Board meetings can be found in the Tranby Archives.

Many Board members continued in their roles once Kevin Cook became General Secretary, while those who retired remained close friends and supporters. These photographs show many of the Board members and Tranby friends.

Board members during Kevin Cook’s tenure (1980 – 1998) included Isabel Flick (elder from Collarenebri, NSW), Paddy Crumlin (leading unionist, national and international maritime unions), Delia Lowe (Jerrinja leader, Roseby Park, NSW), Bob Maza (actor and writer from Palm Island, Queensland), Joe McGinness (unionist, elder and community leader, Cairns), Mr Justice Robert Hope (NSW Court of Appeal and Royal Commissioner) and Dr Paul Torzillo (physician, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital). Close colleagues and supporters of Tranby shown here included Jacko Campbell (Dhan-gati elder, Kempsey and Roseby Park, NSW), Faith Bandler (ASSI, Tweed Heads, NSW), Patrick Dodson (Royal Commissioner and now MHR), Julia Mant (archivist) and Terry O’Shane (Unionist, Townsville, North Queensland).

Kevin was just as interested in community enterprise co-operatives as Alf had been, and he worked with the community at Mt Druitt to establish a co-operative to produce boomerangs for the souvenir market. Tranby Board supported the establishment of the factory, under the management of Harry Cooley, who took on one apprentice, Rodney. The boomerangs were carefully made of layers of plywood and decorated with Harry’s artwork based on local designs, incised and burnt into the wood, with each boomerang signed on the back. Eventually, however, it became clear that it simply was not possible to compete economically with mass-produced products being made on far larger scale for the tourist industry.

Yet although the Boomerang Factory was not able to continue, Tranby Cooperative intensified its teaching and learning programs in many places. Some that ran in western Sydney as well as in rural areas are included in the Learning in Community section.

There were also courses which began to run in Tranby’s Glebe building, following on from the Cooperative Studies units which Alf had established. The Co-op Board appointed an overall Director of Studies who has worked to implement the Board’s policy across all programs. Each Program has had a Coordinator – so for example, there was a Coordinator of Business Studies or a Coordinator of the Tertiary Preparation Course – and these people are involved in strengthening each program to deliver the Board’s Policy for both teaching staff and for learners. As this website is focussed on the period from 1980 to 2000, you will find photos from that time – including some of the Directors of Study, Coordinators and the teaching staff – in the Learning at Tranby in Glebe section.

Students have been involved in this Cooperative as learners and as Board members. After they graduated, they might also become involved as workers in the Co-op organisations like BlackBooks and the Aboriginal Development Unit, both in the Learning on the Job section.