NAIDOC Week 2024

What is NAIDOC Week?

NAIDOC Week celebrates the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The week is a great opportunity for people from all walks of life to participate in a range of activities that celebrate and support our local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and to learn about First Nations cultures and histories.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee, which was the group in the 1990s that organised national celebrations marking a week of remembrance for Australia’s First People and their heritage. The group's acronym has since become the name of the week itself which is commemorated by Councils and local communities throughout Australia.

NAIDOC Week 2024

The National NAIDOC Theme for 2024 is Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud. It celebrated the unyielding spirit of First Peoples communities and invites all to stand in solidarity, amplifying the voices that have long been silenced

Each year the City of Port Phillip proudly supports and celebrates NAIDOC Week events with our wonderfully diverse and vibrant community. in 2024 we hosted a series of events which featured First People’s creatives, artists, performers, and community leaders.

Presented in support of reconciliation, programs ran from 7 to 14 July, including events at South Melbourne Market, Port Phillip Libraries and St Kilda Town Hall.

NAIDOC musical performances at South Melbourne Markets

Sunday 7 July

Experience the rich cultural heritage of Australia's First Peoples and celebrate NAIDOC at South Melbourne Market. These special musical performances by emerging talents will be sure to captivate and inspire:

• Maylene Slater Burns Trio - 11 to 11.40 am
• Olivia Meg - 12 noon to 12.40 pm

Gumnut Jewellery with Wurruck Yambo at the St Kilda Library

Sunday 7 July - 2 to 4 pm

Celebrate the start of NAIDOC week with the incredible Emmy Webbers (Gunai/ Kurani) from Wurruck Yambo, via a drop in family session at the St Kilda Library. Participants are invites to select, paint and decorate gumnuts to make into bracelets, necklaces and keyrings to create their own unique piece.

Flag Raising Event at St Kilda Town Hall

Tuesday 9 July - 11 am to 12 noon

NAIDOC Week will be marked with a Flag Raising Ceremony on the front lawn of St Kilda Town Hall at 11 am. A Bunurong Elder will deliver a Welcome to Country, followed by a Yidiki Performance and a Smoking Ceremony. All are welcome to join.

Author Talk at St Kilda Library

Tuesday 9 July - 6.30 to 7.30 pm

Dr Marguerita Stephens and Boonwurrung Elder, Aunty Fay Stewart-Muir, OAM, will talk and answer audience questions about their groundbreaking 2023 book ‘The Years of Terror/ Banbu-deen: Kulin and Colonists at Port Phillip, 1835-1851’. The book is a landmark, new history of the impacts of the colonial invasion on the Kulin people, primarily on the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri clans, in the years before the gold rush.

Music in the Library: Amos Roach at St Kilda Library

Thursday 11 July - 6.30 to 7.30 pm

Join us for a captivating musical performance with proud Ngarrandjerri/ Djab Wurrung/ Gunditj Mara man, Amos Roach. Amos’s music presents a narrative of healing, told with song and dance.

NAIDOC Heritage Walk

Sunday 14 July - 11 am to 1 pm

In an incredibly special culmination of NAIDOC week N’Arweet Carolyn Briggs of the Boon Wurrung Foundation will lead participants along a guided Heritage Walk from the sacred Ngargee tree at St Kilda Junction to Cleve Gardens. Book now to join Aunty Carolyn for this unique cultural experience.

We are committed to building our relationships with First Nations communities and organisations and recognising their invaluable contribution to our City.