WAKULDA means 'as one' in the Gathang language, the language of the Birpai people on whose land we walk and share.
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This one powerful word underpins the message for all who live in our community, and who have come before us, as we acknowledge the 200th year since European settlement.
Aunty Rhonda Radley says it is a time for togetherness, to listen.
For reflection.
For peace.
To connect with the land we share and to acknowledge the past, both good and bad, that has shaped who we are as a community today.
For some, the bicentenary is not a celebration, it is a time of sadness, the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and their culture is significant.
- Aunty Rhonda Radley
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"This is about inclusion and togetherness," Aunty Rhonda said.
"As a community, that's what connecting is about. Things have happened on this place that haven't been acknowledged.
"For some, the bicentenary is not a celebration, it is a time of sadness - the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and their culture is significant.
"What is important is the truth-telling. Whatever has happened here, it is a part of everyone's story.
"It's about telling the whole story and acknowledging that story no matter what. So we can move forward as one, Wakulda."
Port Macquarie-Hastings will mark its bicentenary year with a program of events from April 10-18.
It opens with an audio-visual display, Wakulda, on the wall of the Port Macquarie historic courthouse on April 10 at 6pm.
The 10-minute audio-visual projection tracks the region's history from our Aboriginal heritage, to European settlement of Port Macquarie, and its emergence as a place of recreation and renewal.
The production will screen on a loop between 6-9pm each evening.
As a federally funded legacy project, Wakulda will become a permanent fixture at the Historic Courthouse.
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