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Member Profile: Joanna Smith

1 August, 2016

Marketing Sand Dune Adventures for Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council.

My name’s Joanna Smith, and I’m a Worimi woman working at Worimi Local Aboriginal Land Council in the beautiful Port Stephens area.

Joanna Smith, Worimi woman marketing Sand Dune Adventures. Image: OurMob

I was born here and have spent my whole life here expect for a stint up in Byron Bay for work many years ago, but came back to country and I’ll probably never leave here again!

I worked in a number of places in the accounting area before coming to Worimi LALC.

I worked for a bank, a balloon shop and then ran an interstate truck business with my husband, who passed away eleven years ago.

After his death, I needed extra income for our children so I worked at Tea Gardens Hardware for more than five years.

I started work at Worimi LALC almost six years ago, and then moved across to Sand Dune Adventures in its early days, to help it grow as a business.

I run the Sales and Marketing area, so I make a lot of phone calls and arrange and make a lot of bookings for a range of clients, from individuals to large groups.

At the edge of dune country. Image: OurMob
Quad bikes owned and maintained by Worimi LALC. Image: OurMob

I also help promote Worimi LALC’s Sand Dune Adventures nationally and internationally.

We’ve been to Cairns, the Gold Coast and Melbourne through Tourism Australia’s tourism exchange, and have also had the opportunity to promote our business in New Zealand, China, Singapore and Malaysia.

We meet with tourism agents and wholesalers in their own countries, which has had a major impact on them referring tourists to us.

It’s exciting, but hard work.

For example, in China we had 45 appointments in Xiamen and 46 in Beijing over just five days!

Worimi Sand Dunes. Image: OurMob

The sand dunes themselves are extremely important culturally as well as economically, and by running Sand Dune Adventures, Worimi LALC is able to monitor activities and determine exactly how things should be done on its land.

Whenever I fly back in to Newcastle over those sand dunes, I have tears in my eyes at how beautiful they are.

I absolutely love working for Worimi LALC, as it’s helped me connect with our wider community, my beautiful country, and strengthen my own family relationships.

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