NAIDOC Week is the outcome of a long history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander efforts to bring issues of concern to the attention of governments and the general public.
In 1924, the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association, (AAPA) was formed in Sydney under the leadership of Fred Maynard.
The AAPA tried to raise the awareness of the struggle of Aboriginal people but were forced to abandon their work in 1927 due to constant harassment by the police.		 In 1932, William Cooper formed the Australian Aborigines League to protest against the living conditions of Aboriginal people. In 1935, a small delegation led by William Cooper petitioned the Federal Minister for the Interior for representation of Aborigines in Parliament, the establishment of a national department of native affairs and state advisory councils on Aboriginal affairs.
The Government failed to respond to these demands.
William Cooper then drafted a petition, which was signed by many Aboriginal people, for presentation to King George V.
In 1937, Cooper's petition was presented to the Commonwealth Government asking that it be delivered to King George V.
The government did not respond. 		On November 13, 1937, Cooper called for a Day of Mourning be held on Australia Day, 26 January 1938, to highlight their plight and stir the conscience of non-Aboriginal Australia.
William Ferguson also launched the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) in 1937. Together, William Cooper and William Ferguson planned the first Day of Mourning.
In order to gain public support for the Day of Mourning, William Ferguson and the President of the Aborigines Progressive Association J. T. Patten, wrote -a pamphlet entitled "Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights."
The pamphlet condemned the NSW Aborigines Protection Act 1901-1936 and the Aborigines Protection Board and calling for new policies for Aboriginal affairs, with full citizenship status for Aboriginal people and rights to land. 		The following Australia Day, 26 January 1938, the Australian Aboriginal League and the Aboriginal Progressive Association combined to hold a Day of Mourning. The day marked the 150th anniversary of the First Fleet landing at Sydney Cove.
William Cooper then wrote to the National Missionary Council of Australia (NMCA) on January 31, 1939, seeking their assistance in promoting a Day of Mourning.
In January 1940, the Sunday preceding the Australia Day holiday became the first "Day of Mourning" Aboriginal Sunday.In 1955, the NMCA suggested that Aborigines Day should become a National Day with the aim to change negative attitudes towards Aboriginal people and to include not only the churches, but also Commonwealth and State Governments and other bodies.
Aborigines Day was changed to the first Sunday in July.		 In 1957, the National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (NADOC), with the support and co-operation of the Federal and State Governments, the churches and major Aboriginal organisations, was formed. In 1957, an Aboriginal Pastor, Sir Douglas Nicholls, persuaded the NMCA to nominate the second Sunday in July to be a day of remembrance of Aboriginal people and heritage.
In 1984, the national NADOC committee called for the Federal Government to declare National Aborigines Day a national public holiday.
Many others including ATSIC have since asked that the Government adopt this suggestion so that all Australians can celebrate and recognise indigenous peoples and cultures that make Australia unique. Many Torres Strait Islanders commemorate the Coming of the Light Festival the week before NAIDOC on July 1.
This day marks the day the London Missionary Society first arrived in the Torres Strait. The missionaries landed at Erub Island on 1 July 1871.
Religious and cultural ceremonies in the Torres Strait and on mainland Australia are held on this day.		 In 1991, NADOC became known as NAIDOC to include Torres Strait Islanders. NAIDOC is now used widely to refer to all the events and celebrations that go on during National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Week.
Each year NAIDOC Week has a theme. In the past these themes have represented issues important to indigenous people.
The Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI) decided in February 1972 that National Aborigines Day on July 14, 1972, would be the occasion for a massive national protest against the needless suffering of Australia's original inhabitants.
Aboriginal people and other concerned people were asked to take part in marches all over the country to show the Federal Government that a substantial number of people cared about the needs of Aboriginal people.		 Many Torres Strait Islanders commemorate the Coming of the Light Festival the week before NAIDOC on July 1.
This day marks the day the London Missionary Society first arrived in the Torres Strait. The missionaries landed at Erub Island on 1 July 1871.
Religious and cultural ceremonies in the Torres Strait and on mainland Australia are held on this day.
Today, NAIDOC celebrations continue to give Australia’s Indigenous people the opportunity to display the richness of our culture and heritage to the rest of the Australian community. It is encouraging to see that the wider Australian community is joining with us to celebrate this week. After all, we all have a lot to celebrate.