Goreng Goreng girl vies for Miss NAIDOC 2019
Calendar of remaining NAIDOC events this week
Rockhampton
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LETITIA Smith moved to Rockhampton only a few months ago and she is already out in the community, vying for this year's Miss NAIDOC award.
Miss Smith attended the NAIDOC Week Baby Show at Bidgerdii Community Health in North Rockhampton yesterday, where she said she was keen to learn about the locals' stories.
"I entered Miss NAIDOC to get more involved in the local community, especially the elders' point of view,” she said.
"We need that to make a change in the community.”
She was transferred to Rockhampton's Central Queensland Indigenous Development (CQID) office after holding a similar traineeship out in Emerald.
But she spent the last month mentoring young people as part of a leadership program in Brisbane.
"I bring people together to discuss our issues, and try to make them not become big issues,” Miss Smith said.
"I literally just got home on Saturday.”
The Miss NAIDOC award, which raises funds for and awareness about indigenous welfare, is announced at the ball on Saturday night.
In the meantime, Miss Smith is helping her fellow CQID staff prepare for this Thursday Kup Murri feast at the CQUniversity campus.
"It's a deadly place to work; I love it,” she said.
Having moved to an area where she has no family, Miss Smith describes herself as a "lone wolf”.
Miss Smith comes from the Goreng Goreng people in Bundaberg where she was raised by her Nan.
The Goreng Gorengs' land is between Baffle Creek to Agnes Water in the north, extending west to Kroombit Tops.
See page 29 of tomorrow's Morning Bulletin for more photos from the NAIDOC Week Baby Show.
Originally published as Goreng Goreng girl vies for Miss NAIDOC 2019
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