Ceremony: Welcome to our Country

By Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing

Illustrated by David Hardy

'Where are we going again?' asks Lucy.
'Back on Country,' says Mum. 'Where we're going is where your nanna comes from, where we come from. Our Country is special to us. You'll see.'

It's Lucy and David's first time back on Country.
They meet their cousins and Elders, and see special places, learn local language words and hear stories as old as time.

Join them to feel the strength that comes from being back on Country.

By Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing
Illustrated by David Hardy

For thousands and thousands of years,

Aboriginal people lived in the land we call Australia.

The land was where people

built their homes,

played in the sun,

and sat together to tell stories.

When the white people came,

they called the land

Terra Nullius.

They said it was nobody's land.

But it was somebody's land.

Somebody's Land is an invitation to connect with First Nations culture, to acknowledge the hurt of the past, and to join together as one community with a precious shared history as old as time.

Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing's powerful words and David Hardy's pictures, full of life, invite children and their families to imagine themselves into Australia's past - to feel the richness of our First Nations' history, to acknowledge that our country was never terra nullius, and to understand what 'welcome to our country' really means.

By Adam Goodes and Ellie Laing
Illustrated by David Hardy

A joyful celebration of family and culture, the Welcome to Our Country series introduces First Nations history to children. From Australian of the Year Adam Goodes, co-writer Ellie Laing, and Barkindji illustrator David Hardy.

Welcome, children!

Nangga! Nangga! Yakarti!

Tonight will be our Ceremony.

Our family gathers as the fire burns.

The smoke rises up as we take it in turns . . .

Then clapsticks tap - one, two, three -

but a stick is missing! Where could it be?

Joyful and full of fun, Ceremony invites you to celebrate the rich traditions of dance, family, community and caring for Country from the world's oldest continuous culture.