NAIDOC Week - 'Always Was, Always Will Be'

Australia Day, 1938 – more than a thousand Australian & Aboriginal people marched through the streets of Sydney and many attended congress. This was the first largest civil rights gatherings in the world. It was led by William Cooper an Aboriginal man based in Victoria, along with other Aboriginal activists. This day became known as the ‘Day of Mourning.’

Before the 1920’s, William Cooper and other Aboriginal Activist groups boycotted Australia Day which was not met with a large crowd of support. Instead multiple organisations were created in raising awareness for the mistreatment of Aboriginal people and to help fight for rights of the Indigenous people. Their efforts were largely overlooked, and due to police harassment, the AAPA abandoned their work in 1927. William Cooper and people of the AAL kept pursuing their rights, gaining support from multiple Aboriginal organisations, as well as the public. Eventually in 1938, the ‘Day of Mourning’ or better known as ‘Aborigines Day’ became an annual event, held on the Sunday before Australia Day.

In 1955, it was decided to move the day to July, this was because they thought that this day was not just about protesting but embracing and celebrating the Aboriginal culture. Not long after, Aboriginal organisations, state and federal governments, and several church groups all supported the formation of, the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC).

In 1974, the NADOC committee was composed of wholly Aboriginal members for the first time. The following year, it was decided that the event should cover a week, from the first to second Sunday in July.

In 1991, NADOC expanded to include the Torres Strait Islander peoples’ history and culture, as we have shared similar fates, and both have unique cultural ways.

By 2020, NAIDOC has been celebrated for a number of decades and will continue raising awareness for the Indigenous culture and people.

Each year, NAIDOC has mobs from all over Australia, enter their artwork about the theme for the celebration. The poster winner for 2020, was Proud Noongar and Saibai island man, Tyrown Waigana, who has previously been named as one of WA’s best new and emerging Indigenous artists. According to the 23-year-old, his winning entry depicts the Rainbow Serpent coming out of the Dreamtime to create this country and how we are strongly connected to it.

“The Rainbow Serpent is represented by the snake and it forms the shape of Australia, which symbolises how it created our lands. The colour from the Rainbow Serpent is reflected on to the figure to display our connection to the Rainbow Serpent, thus our connection to country. The overlapping colours on the outside is the Dreamtime. The figure inside the shape of Australia is a representation of Indigenous Australians showing that this country - since the dawn of time - always was, and always will be Aboriginal land,” - Mr Waigana

Just straight up deadly, that is!