January 26 is a day that carries different meanings for different people.
Across Queensland, communities come together to acknowledge what this date represents for First Nations people and for the wider community, and to recognise the ongoing impacts of colonisation.
With more than half of Centres in Queensland operating with First Nations staff and volunteers as part of the team, Neighbourhood Centres continuing to create space for truth telling, connection and respectful conversation to reckon with our past and our present reality.
This year, Benarrawa Community Development Association again hosted its Annual Survival Day event (pictured here), gathering hundreds of community members together to honour the strength of First Nations people and respect for the continuing connection to Country.
Neighbourhood Centres Queensland (NCQ) recognises the importance of listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices and learning from lived experience and culture. We acknowledge the ongoing and intergenerational impacts of colonisation, and our role in addressing them.
We acknowledge January 26 is not a date to celebrate.
What we do celebrate is First Nations-led Neighbourhood Centres.
In Queensland, there are three Neighbourhood Centres operated by a Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Controlled organisation, including:
NPA Family and Community Services, located at Bamaga, Buai Mudh, operated by Mura Kosker Sorority Incorporated, located on Thursday Island, Normanton Neighbourhood Centre, operated by Bynoe CACS, located at Normanton.
There are also two Neighbourhood Centres with a majority First Nations local board, including Boulia Neighbourhood Centre, operated by North West Qld Indigenous Catholic Social Services, located in Boulia and Brilla Brilla Neighbourhood Centre, operated by North West Qld Indigenous Catholic Social Services, located in Mt Isa in Yallambie Indigenous Reserve.
Pictured: Benarrawa Community Development Association‘s Annual Survival Day event.
Written by: Melanie Maher and Ally Kodet-Moran
Published: January 2026