Naidoc celebrations hit the air

Wild weather was no deterrent for the official 2019 Naidoc Week celebrations which kicked off on Thursday at the Harvey Town Hall.

Opening the ceremony was Harvey Community Radio’s team of Greg Little, Lesley Ugle, Ingrid Hill, Natalie Wallam, Clifford Evens, Shannon Ugle and volunteer station manager Janine Quicke.

The team was joined by Sen. Const. Alwyn Kruger, indigenous police cadet Slade Hayward and Harvey shire chief executive officer Annie Riordan.

Following the opening ceremony, Harvey Community Radio had a live broadcast run throughout the day followed by a bush medicine workshop which was hosted by Gloria Bennell.

In addition to the celebrations throughout the week, Harvey’s loved and respected Noongar Elder Greg Little was awarded the 2019 Male Elder of the Year at the Naidoc National Awards Ceremony in Canberra.

As one of 18 children, Mr Little is a proud Noongar man that is well known around Harvey for his work with indigenous people.

Among other things, Mr Little was on the committee that organised Harvey’s first ever Naidoc Week where he spoke at the opening ceremony about his family roots. This was the first community Naidoc Week celebration of its kind for Harvey that showcased and celebrated indigenous culture, history and achievements and volunteer station manager Janine Quicke said it was a huge success.

“The Naidoc committee are keen to continue to develop and encourage a unified community understanding and appreciation of the evolving multicultural society.”