NAIDOC Week
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each year and give all Australians the opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the oldest continuing cultures on the planet.
This year’s theme is ‘For our Elders and highlights the important role Elders have played, and continue to play, and the prominent place they hold in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones.
Read more about NAIDOC, and this year's theme on the NAIDOC Week website.
Read more about how we're celebrating the First Nations Community here.
For information and resources about the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice Referendum, click here.
What's on during NAIDOC Week 2023
Storywalk: Tarrengower and Lalgambook Tarrengower and Lalmgambook is a retelling of a teaching about where two of our local mountains came from. Created by kids a the Meeting place. Mid- May-Mid July |
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Storywalk: An Important Message from Mr Beaky Meet Mr Beaky! He has an important message about what it means to be an Aboriginal person on Australia. Created by Cassie Leatham and Sue Lawson. June-August
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Screening: The Lake of Scars (G) Presented by the late, great Uncle Jack Charles, The Lake of Scars explores the beautiful, mysterious, scarred trees, middens and stone scatters of profound archaeological significance at the ephemeral Lake Boort in central Victoria. A deeply moving and evocative insight into how a battle to preserve timeless Indigenous culture found hope in an act of black and white conciliation. |
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Bunjil Help us create a magnificent flying wedgetail eagle representing Bunjil, an important creator in the culture of the Dja Dja Wurrung People. All ages Monday 26 June-Saturday 8 July, durng library hours Monday 3-Saturday 8 July, during library hours |
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For our Elders colouring challenge Call into your local library agency and collect a colouring sheet created by Aboriginal artist Bobbi Lockyer for NAIDOC Week. Bring back your completed design for a chance to win a $50 Book Voucher from Bookish Bookstore, Bendigo. For all ages. Monday 26 June-Friday 8 July |
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Art workshops with Troy Firebrace Aboriginal artist Troy Firebrace is the creator of the beautiful Bendigo Library Mural, inspired by the natural history and ancient culture of Bendigo's waterways. This is a special opportunity to join Troy to learn about and experiment with storytelling through art. Tuesday 27 June, Bendigo Library Ages 5-8 years - 10-11am & 11.30am-12.30pm Ages 9-12 years - 1.30-3pm |
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Weave a turtle Come along and weave your very own turtle in this introductory weaving activity. All ages welcome. Friday 7 July, 10am-12pm |
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Kinja Aboriginal Storytime Bring the family along to this beautiful storytelling and music event featuring 'Kinja' - the wonderful duo of Ron Murray and Sarah James. Kinja brings together didgeridoo, violin and vocals in a blend of Aboriginal and Celtic music. |
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Film screening: Off Country Indigenous teenagers navigate exams, social dramas and maintaining meaningful connections to home while at boarding school. Every year, around 3000 Indigenous students receive scholarships to attend some of Australia’s most prestigious boarding schools. It is an immense opportunity, setting many of the youngsters on a path to a bright future, but it also means they must leave their homes and communities. Over the course of a year, Off Country follows several such students, who, despite hailing from distinct nations and having vastly different circumstances, each share a commitment to doing themselves and their families proud – no matter the difficulties. Presented in partnership with Intereach. |
Past events
Lynne Kelly & Margo Neale: Songlines Weaving deeply personal storytelling with extensive research on mnemonics, Songlines: The Power and Promise offers unique insights into Indigenous traditional knowledges robust for over 60,000 years. Lynne and Margo share understandings of how these vast stores of information were encoded through song, story, art, dance and ceremony, rather than simply recorded in writing. Songlines: The Power and Promise is the first of six books in Thames & Hudson Australia's First Knowledge series, all edited by Margo Neale. |
Alison Page & Paul Memmott - Design: Building a Country Aboriginal design is of a distinctly cultural nature, based in the Dreaming and in ancient practices grounded in Country. It is visible in the aerodynamic boomerang, the ingenious design of fish traps and the precise layouts of community settlements that strengthen social cohesion. Authors Alison Page and Paul Memmott show how these design principles of sophisticated function, sustainability and storytelling, refined over many millennia are now being applied to contemporary practices. The First Knowledges series offers an introduction to Indigenous knowledges with each book a collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers, edited by Margo Neale (National Museum of Australia). |
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NAIDOC Week Storytime Macedon Ranges Shire Council created a very special online Storytime in celebration of NAIDOC Week. Families are warmly invited to join Aunty Brenda Fahey, of Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung, and Aunty Cindy Bux, of Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta for some fabulous stories and craft activities showcasing Indigenous culture. Celebrating culture – How the turtle got his shell |
The meaning of Smoking Ceremonies
Learn about the meaning of smoking ceremonies from Jaara Elder Uncle Rick Nelson of Dja Dja Wurrung in a great video filmed at Hanging Rock by a creative team of Work For Victoria staff members. We thank local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents of Macedon Ranges for their contribution to the diverse culture of our community. View the video here.