August 14, 2013
St Mary’s Catholic College hosted its annual NAIDOC Day celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Kingaroy last Friday.
A high point of the day was the unveiling of a stone plaque at the school which acknowledges that St Mary’s is built on land traditionally cared for by people who spoke the the Wakka Wakka language, and encouraging students and teachers to ask questions, maintain respect and learn about the land and its people.
The plaque was unveiled by Wakka Wakka elders Aunty Shirley and Uncle Eric Law.
Identical plaques have also been unveiled at Murgon, Nanango and Kingaroy State High Schools in recent months.
The celebrations began at 12:30pm with a liturgy in the school’s Maryknoll Centre.
The NAIDOC theme for 2013 remembers the 50th anniversary of the presentation of the Yirrkala Bark Petition to the Federal Government in 1963.
The service acknowledged this theme with a short performance by students.
Afterwards the afternoon was given over to traditional-themed activities including woomera, spear and boomerang throwing for the senior students on St Mary’s oval, and boomerang decorating and face-painting for the junior classes.
The event was run in conjunction with the Aboriginal Community Interest Consultative Committee (ACICC), which distributes mining royalties from Stanwell back to the local community.
Another high point of the day was the presentation of four ACICC $500 scholarships to St Mary’s students Nakita Kirby, Frank McGregor, Trent Hill and Javon Saltner.
- Related article: Culture Links Local Schools
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