The team
Partners in life as well as in The Indigenous Australian Collective®, Jason and Shelley’s chance meeting at one of NSW’s significant Aboriginal sites led to the founding, 18 months later, of this important collection. They are two passionate people with a single united purpose—to cultivate awareness of an ancient culture that is still in existence today, and to remind us of Australia’s rich heritage steeped in history.
The carefully curated collection includes painstakingly restored rare volumes, texts, manuscripts and breathtaking early artwork, etchings and maps. It is a glimpse into a time—not that long ago—that has till now been shrouded in mystery and misinformation. All in all, it represents a chronological sequence of historical events from first contact with European explorers. It is destined to bring about a broader perception of our past, and ultimately, greater acceptance and unity for the future.
Jason Engelbrecht, Research Director
As an Indigenous man of mixed race genealogy who has dealt with bullying and racism all his life, founder and research director Jason Engelbrecht sees this as the perfect time to bring about change and conciliation in Australia through connection with our first culture.
Jason introduces himself as a sovereign being coming from Gondwana land and represents himself. He has ancestral connection to the Quandamooka people and some undocumented Indigenous Australian ancestry, as well as English, Scottish, Irish, Spanish/Portuguese, Dutch/Germanic.
His spiritual connections are to Wollumbin, Uluru, and the Hopi People of Turtle Island.
As a specialist in Indigenous land management, Jason spent more than 20 years working in varied roles within Queensland government, in environment and heritage. But at the core, his focus has always been on natural and cultural resource management.
Jason is also a sought-after spiritual conduit, having been psychically initiated into the healing abilities of a Kurradji—traditional medicine man. He uses crystals, sound medicine, and hands on techniques to re establish energy flow in the body. This realignment takes place on a cellular level, with far reaching effects on the physical, mental, and spiritual planes. He can also connect people to the spiritual realms to which they are aligned.
He sees the sharing of this collection as a unique opportunity to re-establish mutual respect between contemporary society and ancient indigenous cultures, not only in Australia, but around the world.
Shelley McConaghy, Business Manager
An educator, event manager and experienced not-for-profit board member, Shelley is part of Australia’s ‘first family’ of yachting, and is committed to not only preserving Australia’s natural environment and living culture, but our history and heritage too.
Shelley’s journey to becoming the business manager of The Indigenous Australian Collective® was via executive and administration roles in technology, telecommunications and the healthcare industries in Australia and globally, including her most recent role creating training and development material for multinational Ricoh Asia Pacific.
Shelley’s philanthropic passion was first ignited in 2007 when she was invited to join the Board of The Footpath Library, after having fulfilled other voluntary positions including NSW Membership Officer of the Australian Institute of Office Professionals. In parallel, Shelley runs her own successful natural therapies business, blogs about the benefits of holistic healing, and was interviewed for the inaugural Lighten Up Summit™.
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