The Oorala Aboriginal Centre hosts events during the year for students and the community including seminars, workshops, morning teas and celebrations.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
2026 Calendar of Events | ||
| May 20 - Dec 2026 | Oorala 40 Years History Exhibition Oorala Aboriginal Centre stands as one of the oldest continuously operating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university centres in Australian higher education. This exhibition of photographs explores the ten themes that encapsulate Oorala can be found in the stairwell of the Dixon Library. | Dixson Library |
| July - December 2026 | Your Place Our Country Photography Exhibition Join us to discover some of the local icons and stories shared with us in the Your Place Our Country competition. | |
| Thurs 17 Sept 10 - 2pm | 40 Years of Oorala Community Celebration A community celebration of our 40th anniversary - food, workshops, live music and other exciting activities for all ages. | UNE Campus |
Thurs 8 October | Frank Archibald Memorial Lecture This years guest speaker is author, advocate and leader, Thomas Mayo presenting The Hard Work of Unity. | Oorala Centre |
| Wed 14 & Thurs 15 October | Oorala Yinga Kara Orientation Program Yinga Kara, an Anaiwan word for ‘my path’ is all about getting you ready to start your studies at UNE. Come along and find out what Oorala has to offer. Over three days commencing students meet other students, your academic coordinators, organise your student cards, work through any enrollment issues, experience college life accommodation and create new friendships with other students on the same study journey as you. | Oorala & UNE Campus Register |
| Oct 22/23 | Spring Graduation & Sashing Ceremonies Oorala holds a Sashing Ceremony on each Graduation Day. The Ceremony acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ academic achievements alongside their families and is held in the Oorala Lecture Theatre. | Oorala & UNE Campus |
| 27 - 30 Oct | Ronyera Ekina Experience Program Designed for senior Indigenous high school students, the Program offers an on-campus glimpse into university life. | Oorala & UNE Campus |
| Fri 27 Nov | The Oorala Awards acknowledges the excellence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and the University of New England staff that support them. | UNE Bistro Armidale Campus |
2027 Calendar of Events | ||
| Wed 17 & Thurs 18 February | Oorala Yinga Kara Orientation Program Yinga Kara, an Anaiwan word for ‘my path’ is all about getting you ready to start your studies at UNE. Come along and find out what Oorala has to offer. Over three days commencing students meet other students, your academic coordinators, organise your student cards, work through any enrollment issues, experience college life accommodation and create new friendships with other students on the same study journey as you. | Oorala & UNE Campus Register |
| May 2027 | Autumn Graduation & Sashing Ceremonies Oorala holds a Sashing Ceremony on each Graduation Day. The Ceremony acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ academic achievements alongside their families and is held in the Oorala Lecture Theatre. | Oorala & UNE Campus |
| Fri 4 June | The symposium builds on a generation of memorial-making and includes recollections of the healing of Myall Creek over 25 years. UNE hosts a day of special guests to share their experience and knowledge with us. | Oorala |
| Sun 6 June | Myall Creek Memorial Day Ceremony | Myall Creek |
| Mon 5 July | UNE NAIDOC Acknowledgement Ceremony Join with us to celebrate and watch the raising of the Aboriginal flag above Booloominbah and hear from the UNE Vice-Chancellor and CEO, Professor Chris Moran, a leading community member and a UNE student representative. Then stay on for a warm lunch at the Oorala Centre | Booloominbah Lawns |
| Mon 5 July | Oorala's Annual Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander T-Shirt Design Competition | |
| September | Leading the Way - Indigenous Pathways to Teaching A one-day on-campus experience designed to support and empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people working in education who are considering further study. | Oorala Centre & UNE Campus |
NAIDOC Week 2021
Twenty Years of Raising the Flag
For nearly 3 decades, in the depths of winter, we have seen crowds gather on the lawns of Booloominbah to celebrate NAIDOC week by the Raising of the Aboriginal Flag. We have proudly listened to our Indigenous students and staff, members of the local Aboriginal Community alongside a number of UNE Vice Chancellors share their thoughts on each years’ theme. We hope you enjoy the retrospective glimpse of the last twenty years in this short video.
View our historical video referencing NAIDOC Days at UNE over the years.
Sorry Day at UNE 2022
Sorry Day at UNE 2022
A Sorry Tree was hosted at the Dixson Library on the Armdiale campus in respect of the significance of this day. The crowd gathered to hear Pro-Vice Chancellor Indigenous Strategy, Prof Joe Fraser and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof Simon Evans ackowledge this on behalf of the University of New England before adding their message to the Tree.
Oorala Community Partners
Are you interested in becoming an Oorala community partner?
Here at Oorala we aim to engage and connect with members of the local Aboriginal community on a number of our programs, events and projects. To support this, we have established the Oorala Community Partners register. If you have a skill or experience that you would like to share with future and current students of UNE, please complete our Oorala Community Partners online expression of interest form.
Join our community
Oorala holds a number of community engagement events throughout the year. If you, or your organisation, would like to be included on our invitation lists for upcoming events please contact us.
