NAARM (MELBOURNE), VIC. — Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) volunteers threw their support behind Victoria’s Indigenous community, proudly attending and engaging with the community at the National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) in the Melbourne CBD event for the first time.
Beginning with a march through the northern suburbs of Naarm (Melbourne) commencing at Fitzroy’s Victorian Aboriginal Health Service location, VICSES volunteers wearing orange walked in solidarity with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to Federation Square, where they were greeted by a community-led festival featuring live music, an artisan market and a VICSES activation and sausage sizzle.
“Events such as NAIDOC in Melbourne City are a fantastic way for our members to build important relationships with all members of our community to ultimately improve emergency resilience within people,” VICSES Chief Executive Officer Rob Purcell said.
With perfect winter weather prevailing and with the event falling at the culmination of Victoria’s school holiday period, Federation Square was awash with families and community members showing their support for NAIDOC Week by enjoying a concert headlined by popular First Nations artists, including Christine Anu and Bumpy and engaging directly with VICSES volunteers throughout.
Boasting plenty of activities for younger visitors and allowing members to share vital storm and flood safety information with attendees of all ages, the VICSES activation also raised important funds for Indigenous support services, with all proceeds of a VICSES-run barbecue donated to Victorian organisation Ngwala.
Renowned as a provider of alcohol and drug treatment and recovery services, homelessness programs, counselling, family violence and youth support services across Victoria, Ngwala Willumbong Aboriginal Corporation plays a vital role in delivering positive outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members in need of holistic care and support.
To the west, VICSES Bannockburn Unit volunteers also marked NAIDOC Week with their own celebration, joining representatives from Lyons Construction and local Indigenous elders for a traditional smoking ceremony and barbecue before touring the unit’s state-of-the-art facility, which is currently in development.
“To be able to contribute to Ngwala in the process is an outstanding opportunity which we hope can assist the organisation in continuing to make a difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in their times of need,” Mr Purcell said.
The events follow a busy 2025/26 for VICSES volunteers, who were called to around 32,000 incidents statewide, including more than 21,000 relating to storm, more than 2,000 for flooding and more than 2,500 relating to road crash rescue.
To find out more about volunteering with VICSES, visit www.ses.vic.gov.au/join-us.
