REGIONAL builder, TVN On-Country, which is based in Wodonga and is 70 per cent First Nations owned, has been awarded the 2025 Master Builders Victoria ‘Regional Commercial Builder of the Year (Northern) title, for delivering Shepparton’s Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence (MCRE).
Completed in 2024, the project is the largest ever awarded by the Victorian Government to a First Nations owned business.
The building’s design, which has won a swagger of awards itself, has deep cultural significance and was inspired by Yorta Yorta totems. The building is shaped to resemble a Murray River turtle, the landscaping surrounds are designed to reflect emu eggs, while the facade is a celebration of artwork from local Yorta Yorta artists.
The MCRE exceeded ambitious social impact targets set by the client and the builder, including the number of Victorian Aboriginal people to work on the project and percentage of project expenditure with First Nations businesses.
TVN On-Country Managing Director, Jebb Hutchison, said he was incredibly proud of the project and its impact.
“This is the most meaningful and exciting project TVN On-Country will ever build,” he said. “I am immensely proud of the social impact targets we achieved, which have set the benchmark for the construction industry.
“Our project team included Aboriginal trainees, apprentices and cadets. These young mob are the next generation of construction leaders. Their strength and vision will create positive generational change for First Nations people – and that’s an important legacy,” Jebb said.
TVN On-Country will go on to compete at Master Builder Victoria’s Excellence in Construction Awards, held in Melbourne on August 8.
