Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community

National Reconciliation Week is celebrated across Australia each year between 27 May and 3 June. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey:

• 27 May 1967 was the date of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in our nation’s history. The 1967 referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census.

• 3 June 1992 is when the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land—that existed prior to colonalisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for land rights called Native Title.

National Reconciliation Week is a time for our community to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort.

Information about up and coming events will be shared here when available.

NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living culture on earth.

We have provided support to the local Hastings NAIDOC Week organising committee representing Aboriginal communities, organisations and services to plan for and sponsor NAIDOC week events in our LGA.

Council is an event co-host for the NAIDOC Week Opening and Flag Raising Ceremony on Town Green on 7 July 2025 @ 9.30am.  We encourage community members to attend the NAIDOC Family Fun Day at Westport Park in Port Macquarie on 10 July 2025 from 10am - 2pm. 

More detail about NAIDOC week events can be found on the NAIDOC Week committee Facebook page.

We acknowledge that local government boundaries do not attempt to define traditional boundaries. Our local council area has four Aboriginal representative bodies under the Land Rights Act 1983: