Kiris An Tharan Dance Group
NAIDOC events draw a crowd Celebrations for NAIDOC Week returned to Northern Sydney Local Health District, after a COVID-19-enforced postponement earlier this year. Events at Ryde, Hornsby and Royal North Shore hospitals featured singing, dancing and giveaways as the Aboriginal Health Service put on a spectacular show at each site, with the help of Koomurri and the Kiris An Tharan Dance Group. At Ryde, the new yarning circle provided an ideal space for the celebrations, with an angophora tree planted in line with the theme of this year’s NAIDOC Week, ‘Heal Country’. Staff at Royal North Shore also had country front of mind, with those who attended able to claim a native sapling to plant at home. Meanwhile, the newly constructed Hornsby campus will be better off with numerous
native trees being planted at the site, as well as performances from Koomurri and Kiris An Tharan. Chief Executive Deb Willcox said it was wonderful to see so many staff members embrace NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme. “The theme of this year’s celebrations, Heal Country, was very apt considering the priorities of our health district,” she said. “Our district is committed to doing what it can to Heal Country, and I am incredibly proud of all of our staff, especially our Aboriginal Health team, for the work they are doing in this space.” At Mona Vale Hospital, plans for a yarning circle and mural continue to progress, offering another culturally relevant space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our district.
Smoking ceremony at RNSH
NSLHDNEWS | ISSUE 22 | 3 DECEMBER 2021
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