By DANE LILLINGSTONE
ON MONDAY the Warwick police station held a flag-raising ceremony as a part of the National NAIDOC week celebrations.
The theme for this year is ‘we all stand on sacred ground: learn, respect and celebrate.’
The ceremony formally began with the ‘welcome to country’ ceremony performed by Githabul tribe representative Robert Williams, which was followed by a minute’s silence in respect for our Indigenous ancestors and elders, past and present.
Mr Williams spoke at the ceremony, along with his wife Gloria Williams and Inspector Mike Curtain from the Darling Downs police district.
“Warwick is Githabul country without a shadow of a doubt,” Mr Williams said.
“It’s a beautiful day here in Warwick, we had a beautiful welcome to country, good turnout. I just hope that in the near future we can get more people involved.”
Mrs Williams also participated in the event, giving a speech and performing a song from the Githabul people.
“Long before white settlement, we had a deep connection with this land. Our bibles got written in the landscapes,” she said.
Acting Senior Sergeant Lisa Self emceed, saying that it was important for the community.
“(It) is important for Warwick because we have a large Indigenous community here and we want to build the best relationships we can between the police and the Indigenous community so that we all get on as a community together,” she said.
“Today’s a very important day in the Indigenous community and we want to respect the importance that it means for them so want to share in that as well.
“We do the NAIDOC flag-raising ceremony every year to pay our respects to the Indigenous community.”
There was a respectable turnout for the ceremony with a mixture of people from the Indigenous community, families, police and mayor Peter Blundell.
Inspector from the Darling Downs police district Mike Curtain spoke of the importance of respecting our land and the shared similarity in all people’s beliefs repeating this year’s theme “we all stand on sacred ground.”
At the conclusion of the speeches three flags were raised in a sign of respect – the Australian flag, the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag.
With a strong turnout and police support, Police Liaison Officer Mandy Bahr believes that it is an event that will only continue to grow.
“NAIDOC seems to becoming more widely known in Warwick. I can remember when I used to do it and it was just only a few little people in the front, now it’s getting bigger and better,” she said.
“I appreciate the police supporting it because today really kicks off NAIDOC. (It) has been running for a fair while now.”
NAIDOC celebrations will continue in Warwick today (Thursday) with the NAIDOC Elders morning tea at Williams Hall.
