About 100 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike gathered outside Ray Walsh House in Peel St to witness a Welcome to Country, and a smoking ceremony conducted by Aboriginal elders Bob Faulkner and Len Waters.

There were also performances by the Westdale Public School senior choir, which sang Aboriginal welcoming song Abeeyo and did a rendition of pop song Absolutely Everybody, and a formal flag-raising ceremony at 10am in the Ray Walsh House forecourt by Mr Faulkner and Tamworth deputy mayor Russell Webb.

Included in yesterday’s celebrations was the creation of clay tiles imprinted with people’s hands.

Cr Webb and Mr Faulkner pressed their hands onto a large piece of clay first, with a large number of residents, including some students from Westdale Public School, doing the same soon afterwards.

The tiles symbolise building stronger ties between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Tamworth. When complete, they will be put on display in a public place and will act as a reminder to practise reconciliation on a regular basis.

National Reconciliation Week is celebrated across Australia each year between May 27 and June 3, to mark two important dates – May 27 is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum, when Australians voted to remove clauses in the national constitution that discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. June 3 marks the 1992 Mabo decision, in which the High Court of Australia recognised native title.

Locally, the week is also an opportunity to introduce Tamworth’s new Aboriginal Community Consultative Committee, which held its inaugural meeting in April. 

The committee’s Tim Taylor talked of the aim of the committee to improve communications and links between local Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.