NAIDOC Week 2022
14 Jul 2022
George Town Council concluded NAIDOC celebrations with a Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony in front of the Memorial Hall on Macquarie Street at 4:00pm on Friday 8th July in partnership with George Town’s local Indigenous community. During NAIDOC Week, Council conducted two very popular Kelp Weaving and Handcrafts Workshops and a display of student artworks in the Jim Mooney gallery which remain on display until the end of July.
The NAIDOC Week theme for 2022 was Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! – Click HERE to read more about the 2022 Theme.
George Town Council would like to thank everyone who attended on Friday as we embark on our Reconciliation journey with our Indigenous community. We would like to especially thank Council’s Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer, Ms Susan Mansell who conducted the smoking ceremony, coordinated the student artworks exhibition in the Jim Mooney Gallery, conducted the kelp workshops and prepared a variety of Aboriginal cuisine for all to sample and enjoy.
General Manager Shane Power commended the NAIDOC theme of Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! and went on to say that “he was proud that George Town Council was ‘showing up’ through its commitment to reconciliation as outlined in its first Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)”. The plan aims to acknowledge, preserve, and celebrate First Nations culture, and create culturally safe spaces within the community and in the workplace. The action plan also supports initiatives for Closing the Gap, including on the national stage through forums such as the National General Assembly of Local Government.
Council has committed $30k in its 22/23 budget to progress actions within the RAP, this funding is in addition to projects already underway which include the development of a gathering space in Regent Square incorporating a healing circle, bush tucker plantings, a ceremonial fire pit and cultural artworks. Council, in partnership with Bell Bay Aluminium, has also recently held cultural awareness workshops for the community and has developed plans for an Aboriginal Education and Experience Trail that is will be placed on exhibition within the coming weeks. Commencing at Windmill Point and traversing the kanamaluka trail, the trail will display sculptures and interpretation boards, highlight indigenous landscaping techniques, and will combine augmented reality and audio technology to depict the importance of First Nations people’s harmony with the environment.
We would also like to thank:
- Cr Peter Parkes who was Master of Ceremonies
- Lulu Long who presented the palawa peoples’ Welcome to Country
- Also in attendance were Cr Greg Dawson and Cr Dean Gibbons
More information about NAIDOC week can be found HERE
