Wathaurong expand NAIDOC Week events

THE Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative is ramping up its 2023 NAIDOC Week celebrations by adding a suite of fun events and activations for locals of all ages to participate in.

From the first Sunday to the second Sunday of July, communities across Australia celebrate and recognise NAIDOC Week – a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements.

This year’s theme is “For Our Elders” and recognises the important role that First Nations Elders have played and continue to play in being cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, survivors and leaders.

NAIDOC Week celebrations will begin tomorrow (Saturday July 1), with the Wathaurong NAIDOC Ball at the Pier in Geelong.

The annual Flag Raising event will be held on Monday, July 3 at Wathaurong’s headquarters in North Geelong and organisers invite locals and their families to enjoy a day of activities, live music, damper making and to crown the winners of the Wathaurong NAIDOC Community Awards.

On Tuesday, July 4, the first Elders Lunch will take place, while the following day (Wednesday, July 5), the Youth NAIDOC Ball will be held at the Geelong West Town Hall.

Wautharong will also be supporting the delivery of a Bushcraft Workshop at the National Wool Museum, a Kids Disco, the Geelong United Supercats NB1 game, the annual NAIDOC March in Melbourne and the NAIDOC Running Festival in Wyndhamvale.

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative chief executive officer Simon Flagg said Wathaurong’s NAIDOC Week celebrations continued to get bigger and better every year.

“It’s great to see the whole Geelong community come together and celebrate what’s such a special week for us.

“We have had to move our annual NAIDOC Ball to a bigger venue to cater for the demand, and our Flag Raising event has even more local Blak Market stall holders.

“As well as all of our regular events we have added some new activities this year, like our Youth NAIDOC Ball, and our Geelong based Elders lunch.

“We want to make sure there is something for all ages and especially this year, with the theme being ‘For Our Elders’, we want to show appreciation and celebrate all of our Elders in our community, many who have been around since the very beginning of this organisation back in 1980.”

To compliment the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative events, the City of Greater Geelong will be showing digital projections from local artists on City Hall each evening throughout NAIDOC Week.

They will also be directing locals to their online trail platform which is designed to shine a light on some of the places of significance across the region.

For more information on NAIDOC Week at the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative, head to wathaurong.org.au/NAIDOC2023