News & Events
Changes to the Somerville Management Team
At the end of last year it was decided to split the Darwin region into two separate regions, Palmerston and Darwin, due to the rate of growth in these areas. Lee-Anne Stubbs (pictured left) has accepted the Palmerston Regional Manager position and Jarod Knowles (pictured right) is our new Darwin Regional Manager. Georgia Hardy has…
Harmony Day 2023
Somerville staff and participants across the NT celebrated Harmony Day by sharing cultural food and dress at events in houses and offices. Harmony Day, also known as the International Day of Eliminating Racial Discrimination, is an important opportunity to celebrate multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusiveness. We are proud of our cultural diversity here at Somerville and…
Vale Nikita Peter
We are very sorry to mark the passing of Nikita Peter in Katherine. Nikita came to live with Somerville in Katherine over 14 years ago, when she was just 12 years old. Nikita’s radiant smile and personality captured the heart of everyone that met her, and she will be greatly missed by all of her…
Celebrating International Women’s Day at Somerville
Image: Marlene Mundul at the International Women’s Day March in Katherine Somerville staff and participants were excited to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The Somerville workforce is made up of over 60% female identifying staff, with the majority of senior leadership positions filled by women. On International Women’s Day at Somerville, we #EmbraceEquity…
SIL Vacancies in Katherine
Somerville are about to complete construction of five Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) houses in Katherine East. This milestone represents the culmination of several years of work to build houses exceeding the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) SDA standards. These buildings are amongst the first of their kind in the Northern Territory. There are currently six…
2022 Christmas Gift Wrapping
In December 2022 Somerville held their Christmas gift wrapping fundraiser at Casuarina, Gateway, and Palmerston Shopping Centres. Thank you so much to all the volunteers, in particular Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, Leader of the Opposition Lia Finocchiaro, Senator Luke Gosling, Ministers Eva Lawler and Kate Worden, and Shadow Minister Marie-Clare Boothby.
Move in day at our new Palmerston homes
Beginning in February 2022, Somerville has been constructing two high standard Specialist Disability Accommodation houses in Palmerston. The houses were designed by Troppo Architects and were constructed by M&J Builders. The houses were officially opened by Ministers Eva Lawler and Ngaree Ah Kit at an event in November. At the end of December 2022, participants…
Carnival of Fun 2022
The Somerville team had a great day at the Carnival of Fun 2022, which was organised by the Diversability Collective and the City of Darwin. It was a great chance to catch up with other disability providers and to celebrate people living with disability. Everyone was very impressed by the MC James Morrison and his…
Somerville launches new SDA Accommodation
This week we were thrilled to celebrate the completion of our new Specialist Disability Accommodation high physical support design category homes in Palmerston. The homes were officially opened at a celebration event attended by the Somerville board, Somerville Patron Daphne Read, Member for Drysdale Eva Lawler and Member for Karama Ngaree Ah Kit. The event…
Farewell to Daphne Read
In June 2022, long-time Somerville board member and former President Daphne Read AO stepped down after an incredible 55 years on the Somerville board. Daphne has been central to Somerville’s success since its very inception and her presence and influence has been such a constant feature it is difficult to imagine a Somerville without her.…
Sensory Garden Working Bee
Today Somerville held a working bee at one of our houses in order to implement recommendations made by the Carpenteria occupational therapy team. The recommendations included a sensory garden, vertical gardens, misting fans, a chalkboard, and coloured paving. More recommendations including graffiti art will be implemented soon! It was a hot and sweaty day to…
Verna’s Return to Country
Somerville provides Support Coordination services to assist NDIS participants to implement their plans and achieve their goals. Somerville’s Support Coordination team recently facilitated a memorable Return to Country for one of our wonderful clients, Verna. Verna is a vibrant woman who grew up in the remote community of Numbulwar. Verna was a leader in her…
Margaret Somerville Awards 2022
Last week, Somerville celebrated the Margaret Somerville Awards and the annual acknowledgement of Years of Service. The acknowledgement of Years of Service celebrated employees who have worked at Somerville for three years up to an incredible twenty years. The Margaret Somerville Award, named in honour of our namesake, was introduced in 2015 as part of…
National Day of Action to Defend the NDIS
On Thursday April 28, people across Australia came together to take action to make sure the NDIS is at the top of the agenda this federal election. Many Somerville staff and participants attended this important rally held in Raintree Park in Darwin CBD. Somerville CEO Lawson Broad MC’d the event and moderated the political debate…
Farewell to Elaine Castles
Today we say farewell to our Administration Coordinator Elaine Castles after an incredible 26 years! Elaine has been an amazing asset to the organization for many years and has an incredible knowledge of all things Somerville. She worked particularly closely for many years with the current Administrator of the Northern Territory Vicki O’Halloran. We wish…
