To celebrate NAIDOC Week, GeelongPort is paying homage to Wadawurrung Traditional Owners by acknowledging the traditional name of Geelong, “Djilang”, and renaming the port ‘DjilangPort’ temporarily.
NAIDOC Week is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
For GeelongPort, NAIDOC Week is an opportunity to recognise the Wadawurrung people and to acknowledge the traditional name of the region – Djilang.
GeelongPort is also holding two internal events to celebrate the week. On 4 July, there is an all-staff session where staff will have the opportunity to learn to speak GeelongPort’s Acknowledgement of Country in traditional Wadawurrung language.
Then on 7 July, GeelongPort is fortunate enough to be hosting 15 Wadawurrung Traditional Owner Elders for lunch at GeelongPort head office, before taking them on a guided tour of the facilities at GeelongPort.
There is a new theme for NAIDOC Week each year, 2023’s theme is ‘For Our Elders’ – across every generation, Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and hold a prominent place in First Nations communities and families.
GeelongPort said that it thanks the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation for sharing their culture with the people at GeelongPort, as they continue on the path to reconciliation.
