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General News

24 June, 2024

Plenty to do this NAIDOC

To celebrate the unyielding spirit of our local Indigenous community, Maryborough’s NAIDOC Week event will return this Thursday and residents are invited to attend in a show of support. Nationally, celebrations are usually held in the first week...

By Prealene Khera

Last year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations were a massive success.
Last year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations were a massive success.

To celebrate the unyielding spirit of our local Indigenous community, Maryborough’s NAIDOC Week event will return this Thursday and residents are invited to attend in a show of support.

Nationally, celebrations are usually held in the first week of July but locally, NAIDOC Week is marked before the school holidays kick off — with this year’s event taking place on June 27.

The theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week celebrations is ‘Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’ — commemorating the “enduring strength and vitality of Indigenous cultures, passed down through generations despite the challenges faced” while inviting all “to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced”.

Unlike previous years, the 2024 event will be held at the Maryborough Pony Club instead of the Maryborough Education Centre (MEC).

According to the school’s principal, David Sutton, organising the annual celebrations are fundamental for a number of reasons.

“The Dja Dja Warrung have thousands of years’ connection with this land and it is important we get together to acknowledge and celebrate that as a community,” he said.

“Our community [celebrates it earlier] to give the younger members of our community a chance to attend with their schools.

“We are looking forward to the new venue. The highlight of the day, as usual is sure to be the Welcome Ceremony, the singing and the dancing. All we need is for the rain to hold off.”

This upcoming event has been supported by close to 20 organisations, with Asteria’s Michelle Rafferty, who is also chair of the local NAIDOC committee, coordinating efforts.

“[Through] this engagement, collaboration, and partnership, [we can] provide a free event for all,” Ms Rafferty said.

“Working together [has] enabled us to celebrate and acknowledge the history and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples [locally].”

The event at the Pony Club will start at 10 am with a cleansing and healing ceremony, a traditional smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country.

The program includes clinics run by Netball Victoria, AFL Victoria, and a performance by the Baarlinjan Dance Group.

There will be free and fun activities for all ages including crafts, painting, barbecue, stalls, music, displays and lots of giveaways.

Central Goldfields Shire Council mayor Liesbeth Long is encouraging participation from everyone in the community.

“It’s an annual event in a journey of healing and understanding,” she said.

“[It] continues to get bigger and better every year — we look forward to welcoming community members of all ages to the Maryborough Pony Club.”

For more ways to become involved in the week and for information, visit www.naidoc.org.au.

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