It was a historic moment on Pinterrairer country at Winnaleah on Monday, as Aunty Patsy Cameron AO delivered the municipality's first Welcome to Country.
The council deferred a decision in December on whether it would implement an Acknowledgement of Country, however at a recent workshop councillors agreed to have a welcome at the first council meeting each year.
Dr Cameron delivered the historic first one and said its location was very poignant as in 1831 Winnaleah was called the 'welcome plain/welcome dale'.
"It was a historic moment," she said.
"Many North-East locals were not aware the name Winnaleah translates to fire in the North-West clan language.
"Some were even surprised during colonial times it was open grasslands, as it was very important for hunting purposes.
"The council is taking steps to acknowledge the Aboriginal people that live in the area and I think it's wonderful."
She said they had supported the dual naming put forward last year and their annual Mannalargenna Day.
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Mayor Greg Howard said the council were not comfortable having an Acknowledgement of Country at every meeting but they did support a Welcome to Country reading at the beginning of each year.
"We try to help out the Indigenous community as much as we can," he said.
"They have bigger issues such as a higher percentage of representation in prisons and lower life expectancy.
"The acknowledgment seemed tokenistic as it doesn't actually achieve anything for the Indigenous community."
A Welcome to Country is delivered by an Indigenous person, and an Acknowledgement of Country is delivered by a non-Indigenous person.
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Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
