If you’ve visited the Kiama Council Chambers recently, you may have noticed two new pieces adorning the desk of Mayor Neil Reilly.

The pieces are actually two igneous rocks gifted to Mayor Reilly for his 70th birthday by Aunty Gwenda Jarrett, a local Aboriginal elder and native title lead for the south coast of NSW.

 Mayor Reilly told The Bugle about the significance of the gift and how his friendship with Aunty Gwenda developed out of a mutual respect for each other.

“One of the first people I met formally when I was made Mayor in January 2022 was Aunty Gwenda. We’ve had a very strong connection since then, based on our mutual respect for each other.

“We have met maybe once or twice a month since then, and Gwenda and I are very dedicated to making sure there is a mutual respect between the First Nations people and the Council that represents everybody in our local Government area.”

Despite requesting no presents for his birthday, Aunty Gwenda and her husband, Uncle Stan, still felt compelled to show their appreciation for Mayor Reilly and their relationship.

The rocks come from Saddleback Mountain, and were painted by local Indigenous artist Aunty Jodie Stewart, who has also created artwork for NAIDOC Week, which takes place from 2 July to 9 July this year.

“The two rocks indicate concentric circles, which mean whoever you are, you’re in the circle, you’re part of this mob,” Mayor Reilly says.

“It doesn’t mean you're an Indigenous person, or a Scottish person, it doesn't mean anything else other than you’re a part of this mob, and I think there’s something lovely about that. All these concentric circles representing all the different peoples in our LGA, we’re all the same mob.”

“Outside of that is like a yarning circle, and those little U-shaped graphics around the outside. That means that being the same mob, we can and we must talk to each other all the time and be in constant communication. We believe that’s key to being in this mob.”

Even though Aunty Gwenda made it clear that these were a personal gift to Mayor Reilly, the rocks will remain at Council because that’s where Mayor Reilly says he needs them most.

“I keep them here at Council because the work that I do, my Council work and work as Mayor are the most important, and I want those rocks with me when I make those important decisions.

“I count those rocks as such a significant thing because they remind me of my responsibilities to my mob and to communicate, and I want those two issues where I’m making the big decisions.”

Mayor Reilly also praised Aunty Gwenda’s leadership and guidance around the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, which will establish an independent board to advise the Government on issues affecting First Nations people in Australia. Aunty Gwenda had initially rejected the proposal but announced during Kiama’s Sorry Day ceremonies that she had reversed her decision and would instead support The Voice.

“If anything, Gwenda’s not just going to go with the flow, she thinks things through very carefully,” Mayor Reilly says.

“I think one of the greatest strengths in any person is the ability to change their mind. Gwenda has come out from the outset and was concerned that we needed all this rigmarole for something like The Voice, when in 2008, Kevin Rudd made that statement about reconciliation and apologised, which happened without all this.”

“She has since asked the question, and she knows that if it’s part of the Constitution, it can’t be changed easily, so she has changed her mind. I think that’s a really admirable thing for any balanced person to do.”