NAIDOC Week was celebrated in Seymour last Wednesday, generously hosted by Goranwarrabul House mob and friends.
The event was made possible with support from the Taungurung Land and Water Council, First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, Family Care, Mitchell Shire Council, and the Rights and Advocacy Centre Shepparton, in addition to numerous volunteers and individuals who contributed generously.
The parade attracted a crowd of over 400 people who walked peacefully on Taungurung Country.
Raising the ‘Happy NAIDOC’ banner for this year’s theme – Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud, and Proud – Taungurung Elders and Traditional Owners held a Welcome to Country with smouldering Eucalyptus leaves, which produced smoke to spiritually and physically cleanse those who walked through it.
Taungurung Elders Aunty Joanne Honeysett and Uncle Shane Monk are descendants of the oldest continuous living culture, and more specifically, the Taungurung clan.
“The Taungurung people ask that when you visit, you leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but memories,” Aunty said.
The parade is growing in popularity and community participation and began at Goranwarrabul House – a place that was first put together by local Indigenous woman Rebecca Welsh, who recognised that her community needed a culturally safe place to discuss health matters.
Now Ms Welsh works for the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, while local Indigenous woman Brenda Newman proudly carries the title of Aboriginal Health Project Officer at the Goranwarrabul House.
On the way to Seymour’s Kings Park, the parade paused and children from the early learning centres laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk.
Inside the Kings Park pavilion, family-friendly activities, tucker, stalls, and art for sale perked the interest of the crowd while community groups and organisations were set up and on hand to show their commitment to the support needed by Indigenous people in the Mitchell Shire.
Upon reaching the pavilion, Ms Welsh welcomed all and introduced this year’s NAIDOC theme.
“Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, loud, and proud. It resonates more than ever now that the Government funding for Goranwarrabul House has been cut,” she said.
Funding cuts for Goranwarrabul House were announced in the recent State Budget, a shocking blow for the organisation who relies extensively on the support. The Goranwarrabul House has since started a petition to save it, and invites all to sign via
www.change.org/p/save-goranwarrabul-house
