Days of significance

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC stands for National Aboriginies and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

NAIDOC is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and an opportunity to recognise the contributions of Indigenous Australians in various fields.

Activities take place across the nation during NAIDOC Week in the first full week of July. All Australians are encouraged to participate.

Days of Significance

  • The Apology, 13th February - anniversary of the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Apology to Australia's Indigenous People's.
  • Harmony Day, 21st March- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
  • National Close The Gap Day- 21st March- campaign for Indigenous health equality
  • Sorry Day 26th May- commemorating the Stolen Generation
  • Reconciliation Week- 27th May-3rd June- marking two significant historical events, the 1967 Referendum (27th May 1967) and the Mabo decision 3rd June 1992
  • NAIDOC week 1st-8th July- Celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, history, and achievements.
  • National Aboriginal and Islander Children's Day- 4th August- a celebration of children

Reconciliation Week

Reconciliation Week is viewed as the more significant for Government agencies to give prestige to as it involves all Australians reconciling with  and understanding the past government practices that resulted in the attempted destruction of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

Reconciliation Week begins on the 27th May each year which marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum which gave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the right to vote and be counted on the census. The weekends on the 2nd June which is the anniversary of the Mabo decision 2nd June 1992 which changed the Land Rights movement by officially acknowledging that Australia was not "Terra Nullius" (land belonging to no one).

Another Important day which is commemorated around this time is Sorry Day on 26th May .

Sorry Day commemorates and acknowledges the Stolen Generation as this marks the anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report being presented to Parliament on 26th May 1997. This report formally acknowledged the policies practiced by previous Governments from the late 1800's- 1970's which resulted in the forcible removal of thousands of Aboriginal children from their families and communities.

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Community Worker Multicultural
Phone: 9083 8923