Boomerang Festival Vows To Return After First Year

The Byron Bay Boomerang Festival has vowed to return for a second year after 5,000 people attended the inaugural indigenous festival over the weekend.

The brainchild of Bluesfest's Peter Noble and renowned indigenous promoter Rhoda Roberts, the event took place at Noble's Tyagarah Tea Farm. Today Noble said, “Never have I presented a better festival than Boomerang. My heart is swelling with pride as are walking out of this event site with our roots deeper in this country for what we have experienced in the original peoples culture.”

He added, “The people who came to Boomerang shared our pride in our culture and we are better people for it. I saw thousands of cameras flashing during the opening ceremony and I know that in the years to come I am going to see many more thousands. Boomerang will come back and this is going to be one of Australia's greatest festivals.”

With performances by Gurrumul, Xavier Rudd, Shellie Morris, Archie Roach and Dubmarine, amongst others and various other cultural workshops and forums, the event had struggled to move tickets, with Noble blaming it on a lack of media coverage.

Festival speaker George Negus said, “It will come back! If relations between black and white Australians are to become more equitable more mature and more democratic… [Boomerang] will play an important role in the two-way process so important in bringing cultures and its peoples closer. Not only that, with the inaugural Boomerang as the bench-mark it actually would be a lot of fun… trust me, I'm a journalist.”

Former Labor Arts Minister Tony Burke added to today's chorus of praise, saying, “Everyone you talk to knows they're coming back to boomerang and they are bringing their friends and family. They know they were at the start of something really big.”

Pic by Kirra Pendergast