Our
Story
The Hennessy Legacy Collective was born from a story that stretches across generations, a story of courage, culture, healing and community. Our work is inspired by the teachings and legacy of Cyril Hennessy, whose cultural knowledge, discipline, compassion and community-first approach shaped one of Australia’s most respected healing models. Cyril believed that healing begins with truth, connection and the reclamation of identity, and his life’s work uplifted countless families, communities and young people.
This legacy also lived strongly through his Son Glen, a gifted linguist and storyteller whose deep connection to Country and culture helped people see their story with new clarity, humour and heart. His way of weaving truth and culture continues to guide the creative spirit of our work.
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Today, Cyril and Glen’s legacy continues through the next generation and extended community who carry their teachings forward with pride. Guided by these foundations, we created the Hennessy Legacy Collective as a space where storytelling, culture, creativity and connection come together to support social and emotional wellbeing.
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Our story is also one of inclusion.
While our roots are firmly grounded in Aboriginal cultural knowledge, our programs welcome people from all backgrounds, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal who seek connection, reflection, healing or a deeper understanding of themselves. Cyril taught that principles of respect, accountability, belonging and truth-telling carry wisdom for everyone. We honour that belief by creating culturally safe and inclusive spaces where all people can learn, grow and share their story.
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At the heart of our work is a simple truth:
When we strengthen identity and connection, we strengthen wellbeing.
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Through yarning circles, storytelling programs, creative expression, on-Country moments and community partnerships, we walk alongside people to reclaim their voice, reconnect with culture and community, and rediscover the story that guides them forward.
The Hennessy Legacy Collective is more than a service —
it is a growing movement grounded in cultural knowledge, family legacy, community leadership and shared healing.
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This is our story.
And we invite you to walk with us as we help others share theirs.
Founding Principles
Our Founding Principles are grounded in Aboriginal cultural knowledge, healing practices and community-led values passed down through the Hennessy family. While these principles originate from ancient ways of knowing, they are universal at heart connection, belonging, story and respect are needs shared by all people.
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We welcome Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people into this work, creating culturally safe, inclusive spaces where everyone can learn, reflect, heal and grow together. Our Aboriginal foundations guide us, and our commitment to inclusivity ensures that these teachings support wellbeing across all communities.
Meet The Team
Bianca Hennessy
Founder & Facilitator
Hennessy Legacy
Collective.
Bianca Hennessy is a proud Malyangapa woman. Drawing on her lived experience and her family’s long history of community-led healing, Bianca creates supportive spaces for people to reconnect with their identity through story, creative expression, and shared truth. Her work focuses on strengthening spirit, rebuilding confidence, and helping people feel grounded, seen, and supported in culturally meaningful ways.
Coral Hennessy
Elder & Advisor
Hennessy Legacy
Collective.
Coral Hennessy is a proud Malyangapa women, respected Aboriginal community leader and a key custodian of the Hennessy family’s healing legacy. As former Chairperson of The Glen, she has supported community wellbeing for decades through quiet strength, cultural integrity, and unwavering commitment. Coral continues to guide and inspire the Hennessy Legacy Collective with her wisdom and deep connection to community.
James Hennessy
Youth Advisor
Hennessy Legacy
Collective.
James Hennessy is a proud Malyangapa man and Youth Advisor with the Hennessy Legacy Collective, committed to empowering the next generation through culture, identity, and connection. With lived experience growing up in a community shaped by both resilience and challenge, James brings a grounded, relatable voice to young people navigating their own pathways..
From the left:
Cyril Hennessy, May Hunt,
and Coral Hennessy
Where It All Began
The Hennessy Legacy story is one of healing, not perfection, but persistence.
It began with May Hunt, born in the red dust of Milparinka in 1900. She was a woman of strength and courage, fearless, creative, and grounded in culture. She raised her children to stand tall, to fight with dignity, and to love without fear.
​From her came Cyril (who founded The Glen Rehabilitation Centre). He was a man who saw pain in his people and decided to do something about it. In 1979, he founded the National Aboriginal Mental Health Association and called for Aboriginal people to lead their own healing. He said, “When an Aboriginal person reconnects with land and story, they remember who they are and that memory becomes medicine.”
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He was decades ahead of his time. He gave our people language for something we already knew: that healing must come from within community, led by culture and truth.
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Then there was Glen, Cyril's Son, the linguist and poet. He wrote the heart of our people into words. His poems spoke about the quiet things, the pain, the laughter, the loneliness, the fight to belong. He showed that storytelling could heal what medicine could not.
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And then Coral, Cyril's Sister, who carried that work forward at The Glen. The quiet leader, strong, humble, steady. She didn’t chase recognition, but she built legacies behind the scenes. She was the rock that kept everything standing.
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And now it’s the next generations turn, to continue that story.
