A ‘Rites of Passage’ event on Sunday marked a significant milestone for First Nations Youth of the Gladstone Region, celebrating the individual achievements of Year 12 students as they transition from high school to adulthood.
Hosted by the First Nations Working Group of Gladstone Region engaging in action Together (GRT), the community-led, culturally rich graduation ceremony bought together over 100 local people from across the region to celebrate and support our young people as they move into post school life with positivity and confidence, ready to grasp life’s opportunities.
Rites of Passage Graduating Students - Class of 2024
The Rites of Passage celebration was held at the Philip Street Communities and Families Precinct, and highlighted the importance of staying connected to friends, family, culture, and community as stable foundations for future life opportunities and experiences.
With over 12 months of dedicated planning and input from our First Nations community and senior students, the event included a traditional Smoking Ceremony, a Kup Murri ground oven-cooked meal, and speeches from local Elders and Gladstone Regional Council, Mayor Matt Burnett.
The event hosted 91 community members and was supported by a team of 17 local community members including Gladstone Region Youth Council representatives who volunteered to help the event run smoothly and enable the celebrated graduates to enjoy their moment with their families and friends.
The First Nations Working Group designed the event to be a community-wide embrace of our First Nations Youth, wrapping support around our graduating students as they embark on the next chapter of their life after the safety of the school environment. Local Year 12 students helped design the event through project planning sessions and provided ongoing inputs during the design phases.
Young Gooreng Gooreng Woman and graduating student Rachel provided a Welcome to Country.
The event was themed to artwork of young artist, Kirralee Costelloe (Mandandanji/Noonuccal) from Maiarla Dreaming.
“This artwork represents community and connection as each individual takes on the challenges of the new chapters in their lives. As each person moves on to their own individual journeys, they’ll always be connected to those around them and the country they live on, no matter where they go or where they’ve come from” Kirralee explained.
Students each received personalised boomerang plaques created especially for the Rites of Passage event by Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang Traditional Owner Artist, Howard ‘Joe’ Butler.
Student feedback highlighted the impact the event had on the students’ sense of community support.
One student commented, “I think this youth event has positively impacted my cultural development for my graduating year of 2024 and made me feel recognised”.
Another student shared, “It was a really great way to celebrate Indigenous students and congratulate us in our success of going through school, it really gives us hope that people do believe in us and the little things we do”.
Rites of Passage Celebration - November 2024
The Rites of Passage event aligns with the objectives of the community-designed Gladstone Region Wellbeing Action Plan which reflects community desire to support First Nations Youth participation in post-education training and employment and continued connection to culture and community.
The First Nations Working Group, established in 2021, supports the work of GRT and community-identified Action Plan projects by providing guidance on culturally appropriate engagement and considerations of the unique needs and experiences of our First Nations community members in the Gladstone Region.
First Nations Working Group Members, Local Elders and GRT Community Support Team Members
The Rites of Passage event was proudly supported by local partners Alpha HPA, Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG) operated by ConocoPhillips, Flavours Marina, Gladstone Regional Council, Gladstone Region engaging in action Together and the Rocky Glen Hotel.
For further information or to learn more about the First Nations Working Group, please contact GRT:
P: 07 4970 7382