A chartered accountant, a physiotherapist and a couple who
own a café are all first-time business owners with Indigenous heritage and a
personal affinity with the Redfern-Waterloo area.
Raised in Aboriginal missions and the youngest of nine
children, Anthony Ashby’s family moved to The Block where Anthony commenced
primary school. After finishing university, Anthony worked for six years with
accountancy firm Ernst & Young and then as Finance Manager for Darrell Lea.
He returned to the area four months ago to open his own
chartered accountancy practice at 111
Regent Street.
Travis Touma’s family moved from Walgett in northern New South Wales into Sydney’s
inner west where Travis began his Sydney
life. Finishing Physiotherapy at the University
of Sydney,
Travis worked in private practice for six years before
deciding to open his own physiotherapy business at 105 Regent Street.
Ielene and her partner run Regent Café at 60 Regent Street. Their first venture
into business signifies a return to an area where her partner once lived.
Having an affinity with the region was an obvious
consideration for these entrepreneurs.
“I still have family that live and work in the
Redfern-Waterloo area,” commented Anthony Ashby. “We specifically chose Redfern
to ensure Indigenous business participates in the economic change that is
currently taking place”.
“It’s significant for my family to open up a business here,”
says Travis Touma, whose grandmother still resides in Waterloo and whose mother
is involved with the Metropolitan Land Council on George Street.
None of the new business owners however, has sought
assistance from outside the family.
“It’s pretty hard (going it alone) but the Government
involves too much red tape, and doing it your self is the best way to learn,”
explained Ielene.
“Indigenous people want control of their own destiny as
opposed to being told what their destiny should be,” commented Travis.
The concept of an emerging Indigenous middle class does not
sit well with these proprietors.
“I view a homeless person as the same as one who owns a
waterfront Vaucluse mansion,” said Anthony. “It comes down to the individual
and how focused and disciplined you are” – an attitude all are looking to embed
in the community as Redfern begins a new era of transformation under the
Redfern Waterloo Authority’s ten year revitalisation plan.
“Redfern has stalled in the last ten years but everyone
knows the place is set to boom,” remarked Travis. “I would love to see the area
thriving, too seethe Indigenous community thriving and everyone accepting each
other for their rights and wrongs and intermingling”.
Anthony has a similar vision. “It would great to see a real
business district in the area featuring a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous
businesses.”
Ashby and Co, Travis Touma Physiotherapy and Regent Café are
all within walking distance from the Regent/Redfern
Street intersection
[South Sydney Herald November 2006]