Heartbeat Café has been officially opened in Whitlam and already self-proclaims to have the best coffee in town, endorsed with a hearty smile by renowned Ngunnawal Elder, Aunty Violet Sheridan.

The social enterprise café aims to bring strength and vibrancy to the community in Whitlam while simultaneously building pathways for young and vulnerable people along the way.

Developed in partnership with the Suburban Land Agency, Mingle, and Woden Community Service, Heartbeat Café is nestled in Whitlam’s Display Village and Innovation Centre and is set to be the ‘heart’ of the suburb.  

Deputy CEO of Woden Community Service, Joe Colbert, says Heartbeat Café will give people the opportunity to recognise their potential in society.

“We will be kind of looking at this as an employment pathway for young and vulnerable people as we go forward and giving them the skills to actually further participate in society,” says Mr Colbert.

Behind the coffee machine is assistant manager Ornela Anastasopoulos, who is keen for the Canberra community to get behind and support the café so she, in turn, can support her staff members.

Ms Anastasopoulos says Heartbeat is on the verge of interviewing some Canberrans who have never been employed before and provide them with the skills and training they need to be able to enter the workforce.

“So, we’re just going to try them out as well as hire people and train people who have disability issues and vulnerable people, and from there we’re going to work towards getting them into courses and secure long-term employment for them,” she says.

“It’s all about training people and giving them opportunities, supporting them as much as we can.”

Ngunnawal elder Aunty Violet came along to the ribbon ceremony on Monday 5 December and expressed her admiration for Whitlam – the suburb and the former Prime Minister – and her lactose-free latte.

“This is such a wonderful place to build a house, a wonderful place to raise a family, because, like I said, it is close to my heart, not just because of the politician it’s named after, but it’s a beautiful place and I get warm spiritual vibes from this place,” says Aunty Violet.

“If you’re going to own a block of land up here, you’re on a gold mine, because it is just absolutely beautiful. Look at the hills around you. So please, take care of this land for the future generations.

“From now on when I drive up past here, I’ll be pulling int to be sure to have my lactose-free latte because here makes a good lactose-free latte.”

Aunty Violet’s son, Richie Allan, lent his artistic talents to the café’s exterior, painting the heartfelt story of Whitlam for the residents to learn about and admire.

Mr Allan explained to CW the meaning behind the mural and how he painted a map of the suburb, and his inspiration. He wants the Whitlam community to be able to truly see the land they’re building on and what surrounds them.

“When you’re standing at the front of the cafe here, looking out over the mountains, then the waterway that comes around and then we have natural water springs that come underneath the ground that we build upon. Then you’ll see the handprints for what the Ngunnawal people left here, the animals, the kangaroos and emus that used to come across here, but also the native flora that’s in here as well,” says Mr Allan.

“Whitlam had already been camped on, there was already a suburb here before this suburb – and they were the Ngunnawal people – so it’s pretty much a map of when you’re standing and you’re looking at 360 degrees of what’s around you.

“We do a lot of work with the Land Agency, but we don’t do a lot of work with the community. So, we want to put this here so when communities see this, they actually see what’s around them, what they’re building on.”

While Mr Allan was developing the story of the mural, ACT Minister for Suburban Development, Yvette Berry, says she was able to spend time with him and feels the cultural aspects of the Café are important.

“I think it’s important, because what we wanted to do as part of the development of Whitlam, to make sure that there’s really deep cultural knowledge of the place for people as they move in, so that when they move in here, they feel like they understand the stories and the song lines that are surrounding this part of Canberra, and really finding a close connection to that,” says Ms Berry.

The primary focus of the Café is “to build community” she says, and creating a suburb where people really want to live.

Heartbeat Café is designed to be a networking space for the Whitlam residents where they can build relationships and friendships, and where children can grow up together, she explains.

The idea came together while listening to and learning from Canberrans in other suburbs about what they felt was lacking in their area, and the general consensus was they wanted a space with a strong community network.

Ms Berry spent the morning before the opening at Heartbeat Café enjoying the serenity and coffee, and says she knows it will be a place people will visit because “you cannot beat those views”.

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