Katanning Harmony Day

Events of the day

The festival is an important annual event in Katanning and draws huge crowds without fail, with this year being no different. 

Our Aboriginal Dancers led the march, for the first time, down Austral Terrace with the Aboriginal flag raised high with pride and were welcomed wholeheartedly by the big crowd. 

Lisa Eades (Senior Project Officer of the Baldjamarr foundation) then led the dance group, made up of local Katanning youth, in a contemporary dance, to the beat and sound of "I Love Noongar Music" and entertained the crowd with applause ringing in their ears. 

Damien Yarran, CEO Baldjamaar Foundation, assisted the dance group by playing the didge in the background. 

Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation (BAC) Elders were there to support the group and thanked them all for their outstanding effort, which was pulled together by Lisa only a few hours before they were due to lead the march down Austral Terrace. 

Importance of our celebrations

Many cultures, from different countries, were displayed on the day and the crowd enjoyed every minute of the event. 

The promotion of Noongar culture in the event is especially important in Harmony Day events and the positive feedback we received about local Noongar involvement was great to hear, particularly from the Shire and local Police. 

Noongar culture must be acknowledged and heavily integrated into the Harmony Day event every year, to ensure that our rich cultural heritage is on display for all to see. We look forward to next year and hope to have an even better presentation for the event featuring more involvement from local Noongars.