While January 26 means many different things to many different people, Moree Plains Shire Council is encouraging the Moree community to use the day to celebrate our achievements, our uniqueness and our diversity.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There is plenty happening throughout the day in Moree to both celebrate and commemorate Australia Day.
The celebrations will kick off at 8am at Jellicoe Park where the community is invited to enjoy a typical Aussie barbecue breakfast of bacon and egg rolls.
The official part of the day will get underway at 9am when five new Australian citizens will be welcomed before Moree’s Australia Day awards are presented by this year’s ambassador, actress Penny Cook.
The festivities will then continue at Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre for their Australia Day Pool Party from 11am to 4pm where there will be plenty of activities, prizes and giveaways.
The slide will be free and people can enjoy a meat pie/drink combo for $5.
At 11am, all members of the community are invited to participate in the Gamilaraay Gathering to acknowledge the 180th anniversary of the Waterloo Creek massacre.
Those participating are asked to meet at Moree Court House on Frome Street at 11am before the march gets underway at 11.40am.
The crowd will march along the footpaths to Jellicoe Park where they will then enjoy a free barbecue, fishing and damper making.
Moree Plains Shire Council’s Mayor Cr Katrina Humphries encourages everyone to come along and participate in this important event.
“I acknowledge the impact the massacre had, and continues to have on the Gamilaraay people of this land, and appreciate how conflicting Australia Day can be for some Aboriginal people; I find that totally acceptable as the date of that massacre was the 26th January, 1838,” she said.
A memorial plaque commemorating the Waterloo Creek massacre was slated to be unveiled at 3pm, however that has been postponed.
“The ceremony for the laying of the Waterloo Massacre memorial plaque has been postponed as further consultation with the traditional owners is needed to ensure that the protocols surrounding the way forward are properly adhered to,” Cr Humphries said.
"I look forward to an event happening in the future, which is mutually respectful and understanding to all concerned.”
