November 12, 2020

Anna Murray 

Australia Post has highlighted NAIDOC Week by endorsing a campaign supporting the use of aboriginal place names on mailing addresses. The online postal service has updated and released its addressing guidelines to introduce the formal way of writing down a traditional place name as a mailing address.

The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week is an Australian occasion for the week during July's first Sunday and the following Sunday. It has become a week-long event in 1975 since it was first observed in the 1938 Day of Mourning.

The campaign comes after more than 14,000 Australians signed a change.org petition organized initially for the public greater awareness by Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail, promoting aboriginal place names to be allowed on all postal items. For instance, the indigenous names for Australian cities: Sydney is Eora, Melbourne is Woiworung, Canberra is Ngunnawal, and Brisbane is Yuggera.

According to Australia Post’s statement, the new campaign is very important to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the landIn addition, Australia Post also mentioned it is its commitment to reconciliation with local indigenous Australians. Moreover, Australia Post has advised people to check the correctness in their traditional place names via Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Councils (AIATSIS) or local cultural centers.

Photo:Webshot.