By Rozahlia Dorante
Torres Strait Kaziw Meta’s annual NAIDOC night celebrated Zenadth Kes culture, community and connection in the heart of Waiben last month.
Joining this year’s festivities were visiting boarders from Western Cape College Boarding Campus and their families, who travelled with two Torres Strait Islander dance teams and one Aboriginal dance team.
Day-time art activities were facilitated by visiting parents and cultural practitioners who helped boarders prepare dance gear and lean deeper into culture and language. Meanwhile, feasting preparations were underway by Saturday lunchtime for the gala feasting and dance showcase, held at the Thursday Island Sports Complex.
The celebration brought together families from outer island communities and the mainland for a weekend of cultural learning, sharing and celebration, honouring the 2026 NAIDOC theme, “50 Years of Deadly.”
Torres Strait Kaziw Meta CEO Thomas Dunsmore praised co-organisers Uncle Dyral and Uncle Frank for their efforts in producing the boarding house’s biggest NAIDOC event to date.
“There was a lot of logistics involved in bringing something like this together,” Mr Dunsmore explained.
“Everyone from our staff to our parents and even our boarders helped in setting up, cooking, preparations and packing down… it really was a team effort,”
“A special thank you to Uncle Dyral and Uncle Frank as the event organisers who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of our NAIDOC celebrations,”
Western Cape College Boarding Head of Campus Leigh Allender thanked Torres Strait Kaziw Meta for the invitation to be part of their NAIDOC celebrations.
“For our boarders, opportunities like this are about so much more than performing,” Mr Allender said.
“It’s about culture, connection, and identity, and giving our young people the opportunity to be proud of who they are and where they come from,”
“For our boarders to be welcomed, encouraged, and celebrated in that way was really special and I think our boarders came away incredibly proud,
“I know it’s an experience I’ll remember for a long time,” he said.
The dance showcase also featured guest performances from Lagaw Titui, before Kaziw Meta boarders and Western Cape College Dance Troupes took to the floor and danced into the night.
The 2026 Kaziw Meta NAIDOC celebration was a powerful reminder that culture remains at the heart of community, connecting generations and bringing yumi people together through language, dance, food and shared knowledge.
Images by Rozahlia Dorante and Laura de Jersey (Lola Digital)
