The Untold History of Australia's 'Welcome to Country'

The Welcome to Country.

That few minutes before every footy game, when your Jetstar plane lands on the tarmac, and, maybe for you now, your work meetings, where you awkwardly sit there and think to yourself why am I being welcomed to my own country?

It feels like it’s become a core Australian custom.

But where did it really come from?

Let’s take a look.

[johnperry]

What about me ? I’m white I was born here and so were my parents . I’ve built three houses, my ancestors are buried here. I understand the country from the snow to the deserts, I’ve sailed the coastline and know it intimately, I’ve been through arnhemland and the kimberlies and the Torres Strait, i love the ocean and I love the soil of the land, I’ve worked here all my life. I’ve farmed here. I’ve fished here. I’ve planted many hundreds of trees. I’ve cared for rainforest remnants on my land . Is this not my country? I’ve volunteered for the community, I served the community, I have the medals, I am older than most of the aboriginals alive today . I have children who are grown up, they are productive people, I have contributed to society more than most people, I am self funded, I don’t need government money to stay alive, my parents were poor and my mother grew up in the bush in a tent surviving on rabbits, her brothers went to war and were tortured and some lost, Why would I need to be welcomed ?.I don’t need to be welcomed by people who are younger than me to Australia, I am
Part of Australia .

[craigduffield]

I heard Paul Hogan in the 70s decribe native title as 2 fleas arguing over the dog they live on, I thought that was good way of looking at it

[gustaaf]

Langton promised that Welcome to Country would be abolished if the Referendum was defeated. Now she has to follow through and deliver on that threat/promise to put an end to a modern tokenistic ritual that quite frankly bores the crap out of most people.

[zwastiunburzy]

Well done, Albo! You've done more for racism and division than anyone else for the last 50 years.
On the other hand, the more I learn about Jacinta Price, the more I like the lady. She would make a much better PM than that numpty try-hard Albo Kneesy.

[ryanwilson]

We have to remember that indigenous Australians were not “One” people or a nation. They were not a singular race or culture. If fact there were genetic differences between tribes, they spoke different languages and had different beliefs. They were not a civilisation, but groups of different people. Some tribes didn’t know of other tribes and there were tribes completely isolated and had no contact with anyone, until Europeans arrived.

[cliffhall]

welcome to country is an ancient ceremony that was invented by Erne Dingo way back in 1975.

[theobscureobserver]

Outstanding video! Jacinta Price is absolutely right about the Welcome to Country. I personally think it's another example of a tokenistic, politically correct gesture with severe divisive ramifications on the nation.

[crouchingwombathiddenquoll]

Very interesting. I know Alan Joyce is training Qantas air stewards to walk up the aisle offering penile handshakes upon arrival to Australia.

[majorlaff]

Welcome to my country. I'd like to acknowledge the early pioneers who came to this country over two hundred years ago and developed an almost uninhabitable land by establishing farms, roads, schools, hospitals, towns and cities, railways, ports and harbours, universities, health clinics, telecommunications, factories and industries, warm (or cool) comfortable homes, shopping centres, a reliable abundant food supply, libraries, clean water, electricity and gas, airlines, the mining industry ... the list goes on. Welcome to my country.

The copyright of the above 'Welcome ...' belongs to me. Certain members of the community will allowed to use it at a fee of $5, 000. White-fellas may use it for free.

[leighmurrell]

I am Australian by generations, I belong here, this is my country too, therefor I am indigenous and I don't need or want a "Welcome to Country". I find it to racist and insulting.

[ryanwilson]

One question people should be asking is, which indigenous people? What tribe did the welcoming ceremony and what tribe didn’t? Where did they do it? Why did they do it? And who did they do it too in times before Europe settlers?

[spanner]

If you have to turn the volume down before every footy match and you were born personally can't stand it, it insults me. I still believe there is a place for it though, when dignitaries from overseas land here, by all means perform a welcome to country. But not at every event, it causes division.

[Retiredroamers]

What a scam, beats working though hey.

[markhahnsmum]

G'Day Cobber, The Pygmies who were in Australia more than 45, 000 years ago prior to the arrival of the Murrayians and the Carpentarians peoples, became extinct not that long ago. My father saw the Pygmies and told me about them when he came back from North Queensland early 70's. The last of the Pygmies lived in North Queensland and had come from the wild of the tropical rainforests to live on missions in the region. From the 1940's to the 60's it was widely known there were Pygmies in Australia but because this became an unpopular notion politically for obvious reasons they have (almost) been erased from Australian history. Please refer to the essays by Keith Windshuttle and Tim Gillen held in the Adelaide Museum. Cheers.

[Macedonian_]

Yep, your right, nothing but PC bullshit that doesn't help indigenous communities at all. These people doing the ceremonies don't live in the bush, they live in glitzy suburbs in the city.

Companies have DEI targets to meet, that's the only reason why they participate in these ceremonies, they couldn't care less about indigenous communities.

And honestly, it makes me feel unwelcomed to Australia. I was born here from Macedonian immigrants but call mysslf Aussie first and foremost. I don't need to be welcomed to the country i was born in. Whether your indigenous, have a settler background or a migrant noone has more right to this land than another

[Machete]

Straight after the "Welcome to country" acknowledgment there should be a "Your very welcome" acknowledgment to give thanks to the white man for not letting Germany / Japan invade Australia back in the 2nd world war.

[jojogrrl]

I’m an immigrant and veteran of the ADF. I don’t need to be welcomed to the country I was willing to die for, unlike any of these people!

[bobbrown]

if it is false and just a bit of BS, then why can't it be banned . It's false and misleading . To believe in the dream time is to believe in the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow .

[WillRobinson-rc]

Let's support full blood aborigines 100%. Half blood aborigines 50% quarter blood aborigines 25% and so on. That will surely stop the unjustified handouts and corruption.

[davidhandyman]

I was born here in Australia and therefore, by definition, I am "aboriginal". If you look up the definition of "indigenous" in a dictionary, it says, "aboriginal" and if you then look up "aboriginal", it says "born in, belonging to a country" (or something like that).