Jake Māra is a proud Gammea-Dharawal man from the Shoalhaven region of the South-Coast of NSW. Jake is a respected language custodian, cultural educator, performer and published poet and is passionate about the continuation of his language and culture for future generations. Jake is a part of Gadhungal Marring, an Indigenous cultural education company based on the South Coast of NSW that delivers education and tourism programs.

Lincoln Smith is a creative producer and director living in the Shoalhaven region of South-Coast NSW. With a background in social work, music and pottery, Lincoln utilises creative and community development skills in his role working for arts/social change company BIG hART. After directing Bulla Midhong at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre in June 2024, Lincoln was invited to co-write and direct Arawarra with Jake Māra and explore the journey of truth-telling and repatriation together.

“Arawarra shares the story of a prominent warrior and Dharawal leader who resisted the colonisation of the South Coast of NSW in the early 1800s. A cultural hero forgotten by colonial history, Arawarra’s story – his life, death and interaction with celebrated colonial hero Alexander Berry, shaped the expansion of the colony on the South Coast, and left a legacy of national significance for all Australians.

This work is for the local First Nations people on Dharawal and Yuin country as well as the general public of the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. Arawarra is here to speak powerfully to the nation about the importance of truth-telling, colonial resistance and the repatriation of human remains.”