Camden Marks 50 Years of NAIDOC with Free Events

Children will sit in the Alan Baker Art Gallery this July and learn the stories held inside a boomerang. It is a small, quiet moment that sits at the heart of Camden Council’s free NAIDOC Week programme, a series of events marking half a century of the national celebration with hands-on cultural learning and a community flag raising.

NAIDOC Week runs nationally from 5 to 12 July 2026 under the theme “Fifty Years of Deadly,” and Camden’s programme turns that milestone into a string of accessible, family-friendly gatherings. The centrepiece is a flag raising ceremony on Tuesday 7 July at the Oran Park Civic Precinct, 70 Central Avenue. The event starts at 10am and runs until 12.30pm, with no booking required and the mayor calling on residents across South West Sydney to attend.

“NAIDOC Week is an important opportunity for our community to come together, celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and recognise the significant contributions First Nations peoples have made, and continue to make, to our nation and local community,” said Camden Mayor Cr Therese Fedeli. “As we mark 50 years of NAIDOC Week, we also acknowledge the strength, resilience and achievements of generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, while looking forward to a future built on respect, understanding and connection.”

NAIDOC Week began as a day of observance in the 1920s, growing from the advocacy of early Aboriginal rights groups into a week-long national event that now anchors the mid-year calendar for councils and communities around the country. The 50th anniversary puts a spotlight on the long arc of that work, and in Camden the programme leans into what the next generation can carry forward.

Camden Libraries will host NAIDOC-themed Storytime sessions: at Oran Park Library on Wednesday 8 July from 11.15am to 11.45am, and at Narellan Library on Friday 11 July from 12.30pm to 2pm. Both are drop-in events and do not require a booking.

The Art Play sessions, however, are ticketed. Held at the Alan Baker Art Gallery on Sunday 6 July and Sunday 13 July, they run at 11.30am, 1pm and 2.30pm each day. Children learn the cultural significance of the boomerang while experimenting with traditional Aboriginal art techniques, patterns, symbols and storytelling. Spaces are limited and must be booked in advance at trybooking.com/DCXMM.

For the children who pick up a paintbrush at the gallery, NAIDOC Week 2026 might be the start of a lifelong connection to the world’s oldest living culture, one boomerang story at a time.