NAIDOC Week celebrations began on Monday morning with a flag raising ceremony on Town Green in Port Macquarie.
Standing for “National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee”, the initials are synonymous in Australia with celebrations of Indigenous culture and history.
In 1975, it was decided such festivities should last a week, and the modern NAIDOC Week was born, inspired by an Indigenous protest movement dating back to the 1920s and ‘30s.
2025 marks 50 years of NAIDOC Week celebrations, with this year’s theme being “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy”.
Birpai Elder Uncle Bill O’Brien led “a minute’s silence for those Elders we have lost this year” and then continued with a traditional Welcome to Country.
He, Josh Wright and Chris O’Brien then lit a fire and invited attendees to walk through the smoke, a symbol of healing and cleansing.
Samantha McKinnon introduced the young Yapun Yapun dancers, who performed a dance of cleansing and a pelican dance they prepared with the help of Aunty Nancy Pattison from South West Rocks.
“Many of the girls have Dunghutti and Birpai heritage,” Samantha said.
“These girls really live in two worlds.
“Their final dance is about the journey from Wauchope (Yapun Yapun) to Port Macquarie (Garup).”
Tamika Edwards, a Darug woman raised on Birpai country, said in her address, “Over the decades NAIDOC has become a powerful celebration, a testament to the enduring strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“As we commemorate this 50th [anniversary] legacy we also look forward, honouring the next generation who will carry the torch.
”Guided by the wisdom of our elders and the groundwork laid by our forbears, each NAIDOC Week reinforces our vision for an Australia where Indigenous voices are not only heard but lead the way.
“With every story shared, every act of resilience remembered and every cultural practice celebrated we honour a legacy that reaches far into the past and extends into the future.
“Together we will walk forward, honouring where we have come from and looking boldly to the next generation who will carry NAIDOC and their community into the future.”
In his address, Mayor Adam Roberts thanked local Elders for their leadership, and young people for “carrying culture forward with courage and creativity”.
“May NAIDOC week be a time of connection, pride and celebration of culture, country and community,” he said.
By Pauline CAIN
You can help your local paper.
Make a small once-off, or (if you can) a regular donation.
We are an independent family owned business and our newspapers are free to collect and our news stories are free online.
Help support us into the future.
