Calendar of significant events | Redland City Council

Calendar of significant events

National Apology Day (13 February)

On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples, reflecting on those who were Stolen Generations. 

Find a transcript of this speech on the Australian Government website.

National Close the Gap Day (March)

In 2008, the Australian Government established the National Indigenous Reform Agreement, which set out six 'Closing the Gap' targets to achieve equality for Indigenous People in health and life expectancy.

Each year, the Australian Government releases a Closing the Gap Report, detailing progress on these targets. Read more information on this initiative.

OXFAM coordinates an annual National Close the Gap Day (normally in March), where people can register 'Close the Gap' events to highlight and progress this community issue. For details visit Oxfam's website.

National Sorry Day (26 May)

National Sorry Day is held on 26 May each year to acknowledge the Stolen Generations and past mistreatment of the first Peoples of Australia. The first Sorry Day was held in 1998, one year after the Bringing them Home report was first tabled in the Australian Parliament.

Find more information about National Sorry Day.

National Reconciliation Week (27 May-3 June)

National Reconciliation week is an annual celebration enabling all Australians to come together in the spirit of mutual respect. It is bookmarked by the important anniversaries of the 1967 Referendum and Mabo Day. 

Each year, Council proudly hosts community activities to give residents the chance to mark the week, ranging from art exhibitions and workshops to library activities and Redland Performing Arts Centre events. 

Examples of projects from previous years include the Standing Together: The Art of Reconciliation Project, which saw 11 community artworks created.

Find more NRW information on the Reconciliation Australia website.

NAIDOC Week (generally first week of July) 

National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) Week traces its origins to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s and the National Day Of Mourning, becoming a full week of events in the 1990s.

Generally held in the first full week of July, it is a time to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements.

Redland City Council celebrates NAIDOC week each year with community projects and events such as the NAIDOC War Memorabilia display in 2014.  Upcoming events can be found on Council's online Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural events calendar. This calendar includes Council-run and community-hosted events that reflect the spirit of diversity and reconciliation in our city. 

For more information on national NAIDOC events, visit the NAIDOC website.

Anniversary of Quandamooka Native Title determination on Minjerribah/North Stradbroke Island (4 July)

On Monday 4 July 2011, the Federal Court of Australia made two native title consent determinations recognising the Quandamooka People's native title rights and interests.

On the same day, Redland City Council and the Quandamooka People signed an historic Indigenous Land Use Agreement, setting out broad principles and mechanisms for how the parties will work together to benefit the community.

Read more about the Native Title determination.

International Day of Indigenous Peoples (9 August)

The International Day of Indigenous Peoples is a United Nations celebration to mark the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in 1982.

This day promotes the contributions and rights of Indigenous Peoples. Since 1994, it has been held on 9 August each year.

For more on this event, visit the United Nations website.

Related events

Quandamooka Festival (1 June to 31 August)

The Quandamooka Festival takes place in the Quandamooka (Moreton Bay) area of Brisbane and the Redlands region which have been the homeland to the Quandamooka people for tens of thousands of years. 

This community-led annual celebration brings people together to celebrate Quandamooka culture, country and people through song, dance, art.

For more information, visit the Quandamooka Festival website