News
8 July, 2025
50 years of tradition
MORETON Bay and Somerset joined in celebrating the 50th National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week over the weekend, with Somerset holding its first ever flag raising ceremony on Sunday, July 6, at the Kilcoy Information Visitor Centre.
NAIDOC week aims to acknowledge and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the community and nation-wide.
The Somerset inaugural ceremony featured dances by the Jinibara Dance Troupe, along with a smoking ceremony and a morning tea.
Somerset Deputy Mayor, Helen Brieschke, called the ceremony a “milestone” for the Kilcoy and Somerset community.
“Our country is rich in culture and history, and we are celebrating one of the oldest cultures in the world,” she said.
“NAIDOC Week is about coming together to celebrate our fi rst nations, people, their culture and traditions.”
Burrumgum and Cobble Cobble Song Woman and Jinibara Dance Troupe leader, Lucy Davis, said their dances and songs are very special to the region, as some of them were made not far from Kilcoy.
“It’s beautiful to see our local council and our country performing and acknowledging this aft er everything with First Nations people,” she said.
“These songs were recorded over 100 years ago and probably well before that. This is our ceremony. As we pass through country, we would yell IT and they would wait for the clan to yell back.
“That was our form of acknowledging country, and that was the neighbouring clan’s way of welcoming us. It’s a ceremony that we’ve practiced for a long time.
“We’re the most welcoming people. We love all of you to come and celebrate with us. Don’t believe stuff in the media. We love sharing this country with all of you.
“What’s most important, all year round, is that we look aft er country and we look aft er each other.
Moreton Bay celebrated their fl ag-raising ceremony in Caboolture on Friday, July 4, at the Town Square, featuring numerous stalls and food trucks, along with the traditional smoking ceremony and dances from the Wajji-Walu Dreaming dance troupe and Torres Strait Islander Pensi family.
Organised by the Buranga Widjung Justice Group, the ceremony welcomed over a hundred community members, being held every year since 2009.
Moreton Bay Mayor, Peter Flannery, thanked all the elders and organisers for their work with the broader community and Council.
“I thank you for the tremendous amount of work you do in breaking those barriers and breaking down the misunderstandings that are out there, between our diff erent cultures,” he said.
“Within the City of Moreton Bay, we have many diff erent cultures, and it’s about accepting those diff erent cultures, acknowledging those diff erent cultures, and learning from them.
“What makes us such a special place, is having many diff erent cultures. It’s about celebrating that great worship and acknowledgement of the First Nations people, whether they be their indigenous brothers, or whether our Torres Strait Island brothers as well.
“This is about sharing those stories, passing on those stories from generation to generation and for the broader community to sit down and listen to those stories, because there’s so much knowledge and information there.”
Kabi Kabi traditional custodian, Uncle Mick Douglas, emphasised the importance of keeping the stories alive to preserve history.
“Share your stories, so that our stories stay here forever,” he said.
“When you die and when I die, that’s a library burnt to the ground. It’s gone forever.
“Remember how important we are, as elders in this community, if we pass those stories on. Our kids will pass them on to everybody that they come in contact with, and have a better understanding of who we are and who we represent.”
Various events will be taking place in Moreton Bay and Somerset during NAIDOC week. For more information visit:
www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Events/NAIDOC-Week
or
www.somerset.qld.gov.au/news/article/3409/celebrate-naidoc-weekwith-somerset-libraries
