- Uniya
=Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre=
Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre was a small, Sydney-based centre for social justice and human rights research, advocacy, education and networking. The centre operated from
1989 until May2007 .It was established by Father
Frank Brennan SJ AO, who was the Director of the Centre until 1993 and again from 1996 to 2000. The centre was funded primarily by the AustralianJesuits .According to its website "Uniya seeks to focus attention and influence Government policy and public opinion on key justice and human rights issues in
Australia and theAsia-Pacific region. It draws guidance from theGospel vision and the riches ofCatholic Social Teaching . Uniya seeks to stand in solidarity with those on the margins of society."During its heyday, Uniya focused much of its attention on the plight of
refugees andasylum seekers , Indigenousreconciliation and Australia’s role in thePacific andSouth East Asia .Uniya mission at Daly River, NT
Uniya is named after the first
Jesuit mission in Australia. The mission, also known as "Queen of the Holy Rosary" station, was established at Daly River,Northern Territory (NT) and operated fromOctober 1886 toSeptember 1889 . It is known as "Uniya" because of its proximity to the Aboriginal site Wuniya. The name is said to be a local Aboriginal word meaning either "bend in the river" or "meeting place".The mission was unique in its approach to Aboriginal people in the late 19th Century in that, unlike other
Christian missions at the time, the Jesuits wanted to preserve the language and culture of the local people. Conversion to Christianity was only secondary to the protection of Aborigines from Western influence.The original Uniya site is now a declared heritage place under the NT's "Heritage Conservation Act" 1991.
External links
* [http://www.uniya.org/ Official Uniya website]
* [http://www.uniya.org/talks/brennan_op7_sep04.html Frank Brennan, "A Retrospective on 15 Years at Uniya Working for Social Justice", 2004]
* [http://www.nt.gov.au/nreta/heritage/ntregister/declared/display.html?uniya Northern Territory Government's Heritage Register - Uniya Station]
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