A Message from the Mayor for NAIDOC Week 2023

“For Our Elders” is the NAIDOC Week 2023 theme, noting the vitally important role of elders in connecting people to families and communities.  NAIDOC Week is Australia’s nationwide acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture, celebrating excellence in the world’s oldest, continually living culture in the first week of July.  

Elders have a prominent role as “cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones.  Our loved ones who pick us up in our low moments and celebrate us in our high ones. Who cook us a feed to comfort us and pull us into line, when we need them too.”  (naidoc.org.au)

Council supports a range of community activities and events across the municipality that recognise indigenous history, culture, and achievements. Some, such as the Ararat Library craft session and themed activities happen in NAIDOC Week, and others are across the year.

The Lake Bolac Eel Festival is our municipality’s best-known celebration of excellence of indigenous culture, practice, and sharing of historical knowledge with the broader community.  

The wisdom of Elders has helped shape recognition of the Lake Bolac Eel Festival over the past two decades as a welcoming, multi-generational experience to further reconciliation.  The 22-23 March 2024 Eel Festival theme has been announced as ‘Song, Story, Dance; Ceremony and Celebration’ and I encourage you to mark your calendar now!

Eel Festival organisers do a terrific job promoting Reconciliation and NAIDOC Week with their annual art exhibition at the Lake Bolac Information and Business Centre.  This year’s featured artist is Kirrae Whurrung artist, Brett Clark, who pays respect to the influence of his mother and grandfather in the ongoing evolution of his creative work.  Local children’s art is also displayed, with colorful paintings of emus and honey ant dreaming by Lake Bolac College junior school students and beautiful yarning sticks created by Lake Bolac & District Kindergarten children.

Amelia Bell is the ascending Gunditjmara artist who featured last year at Lake Bolac, and whose gorgeous work currently features in Ararat’s Barkly Street Laneway Exhibition.  Amelia uses traditional and non-traditional colours in her powerful representations of family and community, pathways, and environmental elements such as plants, lava tubes and waterways.  Amelia’s art is well worth a look.  

The Council Budget 2023-24 set aside $100,000 for an initiative to develop strong connections with traditional owners that will help close the gap and work to deliver a better future for Aboriginal Australians.  We are committed to be better informed and support a process of reconciliation, where we proactively take steps to develop new partnerships with traditional owners in our region.

We acknowledge that the Eastern Maar, Wadawurrung, Wotjobaluk, Jardwadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagalk Nations peoples are the traditional owners of the lands and waterways that make up Ararat Rural City.