NAIDOC Celebrations
Kaya! Wandjoo! Get ready for NAIDOC 2024!
National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in July each year to honour the history, culture, language, and many achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Here at the City of Joondalup we’re extending the fun and festivities beyond a week, with a program of events running from 1 – 17 July to give as many people as possible the opportunity to learn more about the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
Together, let’s celebrate the incredible culture and unyielding spirit of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples!
What’s on?
This July, you’re invited to connect with your community through a program of special events that celebrate Aboriginal culture, held all across the City. Learn Noongar, watch movies, learn a new craft, meet an Aussie icon, and way more fun stuff!
Check out the program below and start booking your activities.
A Yarn with Ernie Dingo
Saturday 6 July 2024, 7.30pm – 8.30pm
St Stephen’s School Theatre, Duncraig
Get to know one of Australia’s most loved personalities in this special event for Joondalup audiences!
Renowned for his laid-back style and earthy honesty, Ernie Dingo has been a fixture of Australian TV since the ‘80s, with roles in Crocodile Dundee 2, Bran Nu Dae and Heartland, plus sixteen years hosting The Great Outdoors.
For one night only, Ernie will share stories and anecdotes from his life and work, followed by a casual Q&A session. Don’t miss your chance to hear from this born entertainer and National Living Treasure.
- Tickets $18 per person, or $14 with a concession card
- Suitable for ages 15+
Noongar Language Classes
Monday 1 July, 8 July and 15 July 2024, 5.30pm – 6.30pm | Connolly Community Centre, Connolly
Tuesday 2 July, 9 July and 16 July 2024, 6.00pm – 7.00pm | Flinders Park Community Centre, Hillarys
Wednesday 3 July, 10 July and 17 July 2024, 6.00pm – 7.00pm | Mildenhall, Duncraig
Learn to speak Noongar – the official language spoken by Aboriginal people from WA’s southwest!
Start your Noongar language journey in a gentle-paced, engaging and inclusive environment, with lessons led by Noongar Language Teacher Tamara Tucker. All classes are designed to be relaxed and informal, with a different area covered each week. So drop in, grab a cuppa and start Noongar waangkaniny!
- Tickets $5 per person, per class
- Suitable for all ages and abilities
- Pop in for just one class or one every week – the choice is yours!
All classes are now sold out.
Aboriginal Film Festival
Celebrate the many achievements of Aboriginal film-makers, actors and storytellers, with five free screenings of renowned and award-winning movies.
The New Boy
Monday 8 July 2024, 6.30pm
HOYTS Cinema, Joondalup
A nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy arrives in the dead of night at a remote monastery run by a renegade nun. Rated M.
This event is now sold out.
Missed out on a ticket? You can still try your luck on the day. Any empty seats will be forfeited and reallocated 15 minutes from the event start time.
The Song Keepers
Tuesday 9 July 2024, 10.30am
HOYTS Cinema, Joondalup
Four generations of songwomen from an Aboriginal choir travel to Germany, where they sing German hymns in their native languages. Rated PG.
Firestarter – The Story of Bangarra
Wednesday 10 July 2024, 3.30pm
HOYTS Cinema, Joondalup
Celebrating Bangarra’s 30th Anniversary, Firestarter tells the story of how three young Aboriginal brothers, Stephen, David and Russell Page, turned a new dance group into a First Nations cultural powerhouse. Rated M.
Sweet Country
Thursday 11 July 2024, 6.30pm
HOYTS Cinema, Joondalup
In 1920s NT, an elderly farmhand shoots a man in self-defence and flees as a posse gathers to hunt him down in this action-packed drama. Rated MA.
Wash My Soul in the River’s Flow
Friday 12 July 2024, 10.30am
HOYTS Cinema, Joondalup
In this intimate mix of documentary and concert film, Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach share their love story through their own words and songs. Rated PG.
School Holiday Activities
Children and young people will love participating in these interactive cultural immersion activities this school holidays.
Yaagan Bidi (Freshwater Turtle Tracks)
Wednesday 10 July 2024, 9.30am – 11.00am
Joondalup Library
In this fun-filled session, children will get to sing, dance, listen to stories, have their faces painted with ochre, make a take-home artwork and more!
- Tickets $5 per child
- Suitable for ages 3 – 7 years old
This event is now sold out.
Moorditj Koolangkas (Awesome Children)
Wednesday 10 July 2024, 11.30am – 1.00pm
Joondalup Library
This session will teach children about the Noongar seasons, native plants and bushtucker, with singing and dancing too!
- Tickets $5 per child
Suitable for ages 8 – 12 years old
Deadly Damper-Making
Friday 12 July 2024, 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Heathridge Community Centre
Drop into this workshop to learn how to make some delicious damper – yum!
- Free, no registration required
- Suitable for ages 12- 17 years old
Creative Workshops
Sit, yarn and mindfully make a special keepsake at these two special craft workshops hosted by talented local Noongar creatives.
Keep the Fire Burning!
Thursday 11 July 2024, 6.00pm – 8.30pm
Peppermint Green, Joondalup
Join in a painting workshop with Fiona Reidy from Djinda Kaal Aboriginal Art. Using traditional and contemporary methods, create your take-home masterpiece inspired by fire and its significance to Aboriginal people throughout history.
- Tickets $13 per person
- Suited to adult participants
- All materials supplied + bushtukka treats
This event is now sold out.
Weaving Evening
Saturday 13 July 2024, 6.00pm – 8.30pm
Peppermint Green, Joondalup
Learn the ancient and meditative art of basket weaving with Whadjuk artist Julianne Wade. Make a small woven basket using a traditional coiling technique, with a dilly bag of extra supplies provided so the project can be finished at home.
- Tickets $13 per person
- Suited to adult participants
- All materials supplied + bushtukka treats
This event is now sold out.
Community Events
Gather your mob and get ready to listen, learn and laugh together with these special community events for friends and families.
NAIDOC Community Canvas
Saturday 6 July 2024, 10.00am – 1.00pm
Warwick Grove Shopping Centre
Help paint a beautiful group artwork with Noongar artist Justin Martin from Djurandi Dreaming.
- Free event (no registration required)
- No set schedule, drop in any time
- Suitable for all ages
NAIDOC Week Flag-Raising Ceremony
Monday 8 July 2024, 5.00pm – 6.00pm
City of Joondalup Administration Building, 90 Boas Avenue, Joondalup
Join us as we proudly raise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to mark the official start of NAIDOC Week, with a powerful “Acknowledging Country Together” speech from Sharon Wood-Kenney, Chair of the City’s Reconciliation Action Plan Community Reference Group.
- Free event (no registration required)
- Suitable for all ages
Djoorabiny Moort (Happy Family)
Saturday 13 July 2024, 10.00am – 1.00pm
Duncraig Community Centre
Gather your loved ones and join us for a relaxed and fun-filled morning of laughing, learning and art-making, capped off with a tasty morning tea of bushtukka treats from All Good Grub.
After finding out about the distinctive symbols and shapes used in Aboriginal art you’ll use these ideas to tell the story of your own family or friendship circle, creating a meaningful canvas artwork to take home and treasure.
You’ll then learn more about the deep significance of kinship and the role of family in Noongar culture, while you use salted dough and native herbs to mindfully make special ornaments.
This special event is designed to be laid-back and inclusive for all sorts of families – the kind you’re born into and the ones that you choose. Duncraig Community Centre features an undercover playground where restless little ones can play, as well as quiet spaces where you too can take a break at any time.
- Tickets $13 per family
- Suitable for all ages
- All materials and morning tea provided
Community Tree Planting Day
Sunday 14 July 2024, 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Lake Goollelal, Kingsley (corner of Tanah Close and Goollelal Drive)
Help to regenerate the area around Lake Goollelal with Friends of Yellagonga – a team of passionate volunteers who dedicate their spare time to protecting the precious ecosystem of Yellagonga Regional Park.
After a Welcome to Country and cleansing smoking ceremony, you’ll learn about the local animals and plants, plant 300 endemic trees, and then celebrate your hard work with some bushtukka treats from All Good Grub.
- Free (Registration required)
- Suitable for all ages
- Check the weather, prepare for mud and dress accordingly
Our NAIDOC 2024 Artwork
This year, our NAIDOC Celebrations campaign features the striking artwork of local artist Kambarni (Kamsani Bin Salleh), a descendant of the Ballardong Noongar people of WA’s south-west region, and Nimunburr and Yawuru peoples of the Kimberley.
Kam’s artworks tell stories about his rich Aboriginal heritage and reflect the natural world through their intricate designs and bold line work. The featured artwork is inspired by this year’s NAIDOC theme – Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.
“The flicking tails from the flames tell a tale of belonging.
Raging fires, here ignited, connected many through dance and song.And stories that stretch beyond us, all the way back to the beginning.
Flickering across the continent and seas, embers paint members of you and I.
The first people here, still here,carrying the torch lit by us, passed on by us, to us.
Custodians of these lands, these waters, caring for our sons and our mothers.
All those under the light of the sun or the flame.
Our Ancestors forged in this place, guided by lyrics and the natural rhythm.
Beating, our hearts continue the conversation with our creators.” – Kambarni
You can check out more of Kam’s work on his website kambarni.com or via Instagram.
NAIDOC Resources
For more information and news about National NAIDOC Week, head to the official NAIDOC website.
You can also download the Supporting NAIDOC Toolkit for guidance on how to hold your own NAIDOC Week celebrations in your classroom, workplace or local community group.