News
NAIDOC WEEK: A Message From Uncle Bunna Lawrie, Mirning Senior Elder and Whale Songman
Monday, 09 Nov, 2020
Wenyo, hello, greetings and welcome!
This is National NAIDOC Week 2020.
NAIDOC Week is so special and important to all First Nations People of Australia. Everyday shows respect and acknowledgement - a celebration of yesterday the past, of the future onwards, of today and, of course, the Dreamtime - always here.
Always here – in the sea, our father, in the land, our mother. We have a responsibility and duty to protect the sea and land as our family. We respect our mighty ocean, always giving and nourishing us. We respect our mother earth, rocking us to sleep.
We celebrate our Aboriginal Heritage, history and songlines of the Dreamtime imprinted in the land. Songlines of our ancestors - who are still here, watching us.
They call the winds, send the rainbow, ask our father sea to give us the water of life in the beautiful rain. They ask the sun to shine to make our families grow and for the moon to shine among the stars to reflect in the songlines across our mother earth.
We sing, we dance and celebrate our ancestors. We value and honour our ancient culture and connection this way.
"We celebrate NAIDOC to teach others how important this connection is, how this needs to be respected and looked after in harmony and balance with all Australia - with the sea, our father, and land, our mother."
- Bunna Lawrie
Let’s respect and celebrate NAIDOC Week 2020 all as one Australian family!