The focus of this year’s NAIDOC Week is Australia’s identity as an ancient land occupied by the oldest cultures on earth. “Always was, always will be” is this year’s theme.
Events around the country will celebrate First Nations peoples’ history, culture and achievements, recognising that Indigenous Australians have occupied the continent for more than 65,000 years.
NAIDOC Week 2020 acknowledges that Australia’s story did not begin with European contact connected with the arrival of Captain James Cook and HM Bark Endeavour in 1770, nor with the arrival of the Dutch on the western coast of the Cape York Peninsula in in 1606.1
NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was previously responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week. Its acronym has since become the name of the week itself.2
The November dates follow the decision by the National NAIDOC Committee (NNC) to postpone NAIDOC Week from the original July dates due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities around the country.
NAIDOC Week activities
To find out about NAIDOC Week activities in your area, contact your nearest Regional Office.
Links to a number of NAIDOC events planned for Sydney and the Inner West are listed below:
- 8-15 November – City of Sydney – NAIDOC Week – What’s On
- Thu, 12 Nov 2020 – Pat Turner gives the 20th anniversary Dr Charles Perkins Oration for 2020 – ABC Radio 8-9.00pm.
- Fri, 13 Nov 2020 – Perfect Match artwork – Unveiling of a new public artwork Kingfisher at Wave Rock completed by local artist Thomas Jackson ahead of Marrickville Golf Club’s inaugural NAIDOC Golf Day. Photos of Kingfisher at Wave Rock.
Notes
1. More information on Captain Cook’s “discovery” and the national foundation myth can be accessed here and here.
2. Find out more about the origins and history of NAIDOC Week here.