Andrea Faulkner
Chargé d’affaires
NAIDOC Week 2007 Flag-raising Ceremony
Australian Embassy, Hanoi
9 July 2007
Excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of all the people of Australia, I want to welcome you to the flag-raising ceremony we are holding to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2007. 2007 is a special year as it marks the 50th Anniversary of NAIDOC – formerly called the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee.
The theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week is “50 Years: Looking Forward – Looking Blak".
I don’t want to bore you with a long winded speech containing mind numbing dates and facts, but I think it appropriate to give a very short history of NAIDOC: how it was started and how it developed.
NAIDOC has its origins in the fight for Aboriginal rights that began to gather pace in the 1920s and 1930s, which resulted in the establishment, in 1940, of “Aboriginal Sunday”.
In 1957 a National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC) was formed with support and cooperation from Federal and State governments, churches and major Indigenous organisations. Its aim was to promote Aboriginal Sunday as a day to focus community attention on the plight and successes of the nation’s Aboriginal people.
It wasn’t until 1988 that the committee’s name was changed to—National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee—to acknowledge Torres Strait Islander people. Soon after that it became a week long celebration and the committee is now under the custodianship of Australia’s first Indigenous Federal Senator, Mr Adain Ridgeway.
Importantly, NAIDOC Week is a way of celebrating and promoting a greater understanding of the peoples, cultures, histories, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It is also an opportunity for all Australians to learn about, reflect upon and acknowledge the unique contribution that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made to the development of Australia.
The week is celebrated not just in the Indigenous communities across the country, but also in increasing numbers of non-Indigenous communities, government agencies, schools, workplaces, and Australian Embassies around the world.
NAIDOC events are often arranged in a manner following Indigenous protocols and methods; this demonstrates the value of diversity and the richness of Indigenous Australian culture.
As this is a flag-raising ceremony and some of you might not recognise or know about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, I thought I would take this opportunity to briefly explain the history of the two flags.
The Aboriginal Flag, was designed by Indigenous artist Harold Thomas and first flown in Adelaide, SA, on National Aborigines Day, 12 July 1971. It became the official flag for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra after it was first flown there in 1972. Since then, it has become a widely recognised symbol of the unity and identity of Aboriginal people.
• Black - represents the Aboriginal people of Australia
• Red - represents the red earth, the red ochre used in ceremonies and Aboriginal people’s spiritual relation to the land
• Yellow - represents the Sun, the giver of life and protector
The Torres Strait Islander flag, was designed by the late Bernard Namok, in 1992, as a symbol of unity and identity for Torres Strait Islanders.
In the same year it was recognised by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and given equal prominence with the Australian Aboriginal Flag.
• Green - represents the land
• Blue - represents the sea
• White - represents peace
• Black - represents the Indigenous peoples
The dhari (arch) represents Torres Strait Islander people and the five-pointed star represents the five island groups within the Torres Strait. The star is also a symbol for seafaring people as it is used in navigation.
Now if you’ll allow, I, along with my colleagues Damien Coke and Ms An.
Thank you