The Port Augusta community joined arms to participate in what has been labelled as its “biggest ever” National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week.

NAIDOC Week ran across the country from July 8-15, celebrating the theme ‘Because of her, we can’.

Jam-packed with a record 18 events over five days, Port Augusta’s NAIDOC celebrations introduced three new events – the Seated Corporate Breakfast, the Straight Out Show Colour Run and the Yarn Around the Camp Fire.

Umeewarra Aboriginal Media Radio Producer Gayle Mather described NAIDOC Week as a huge success.

“It was an absolutely fantastic week and we have had nothing but positive feedback about it,” she said.

“The community is really happy and that’s what it’s all about, getting the community involved.”

Traditional events, including the Flag Raising Morning Tea, Elders Luncheon and Pika Wiya Family Day, were all well attended, before a sell-out crowd arrived at Central Oval for the NAIDOC Adult Ball on Friday night to close out the week.

Ms Mather said NAIDOC Week was a great opportunity to recognise the cultural diversity in Port Augusta.

“NAIDOC is about Aboriginal people having a time to showcase and celebrate their cultures,” she said.

“In Port Augusta, with 40 different language groups, we’ve got so much capacity to learn here.

“It’s about the community coming together to share and celebrate all of the Aboriginal cultures in our town.”

Ms Mather said months of preparation went into this year’s NAIDOC celebrations.

“There’s an enormous amount of work with a volunteer team that do a lot of stuff in the background,” she said.

“We really have to thank Port Augusta City Council for their support this year, they really went out of their way to be helpful.”