Welcome to Country

A Welcome to Country is a ritual or formal ceremony performed as a land acknowledgement at many events held in Australia. It is intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to the descendants of the particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander clan or language group who are recognised as the original human inhabitants of the area. Welcomes are performed by a member of the recognised group. They are sometimes accompanied by traditional smoking ceremonies, music or dance. An Acknowledgement of Country is a similar land acknowledgement ritual performed when a recognised owner is not available to perform the welcome, or the traditional owners are not known.

Prior to European settlement, when other Aboriginal people travelled onto another tribe's land, a ceremony was performed to show that the travellers were welcome. Modern Welcome to Country ceremonies first occurred in the 1970s, credited to either the 1973 Aquarius Festival with a Welcome performed by Uncle Lyle Roberts Jr. or a 1978 Welcome by Richard Walley to a group of Maori performers. In the 1980s Rhoda Roberts coined the term Welcome to Country.

Since 2008, a Welcome to Country has been incorporated into the ceremonial opening of the Parliament of Australia, occurring after each federal election.

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