In a nod to NAIDOC week, Australia Post has encouraged Aussies to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land the next time they send mail.
The postal service shared in their addressing guidelines that Traditional Place names are welcomed in the address field of any items you’re choosing to send. You’re free to include this in either the address you’re sending from or in the recipient’s address. Quite the treat before the Christmas delivery spree kicks off, right?
Get Your First Nations Address Right:
Australia Post advised that when addressing a letter or package, the structure you should follow is pretty simple. They just ask that you add the Traditional Place name below any names and above the street address.
And if you’re unsure what Country you need to pop in the address, they recommend heading to The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) website.
The AIATSIS has created a map to help reflect the language, social or nation groups of our First Nations peoples.
This Started With One Woman:
ABC News has reported that this movement to respect and acknowledge Australia’s First Nations people in our mailing service started with Gomeroi woman Rachael McPhail.
A few months back, McPhail spoke with the ABC about her hopes in this space:
“I would love for Australia Post and the Australian Government to make the traditional place names an official part of the address information,” she told the outlet.
Australia Post was receptive to the idea and so far, using Traditional Place names on mail has worked a treat.
“Australia Post haven’t lost one single package,” McPhail told ABC.
Paying your respects to Traditional Custodians of the land we live and work on has never been so simple. So, especially during NAIDOC week, why not take a moment to learn a little more about it all?
For more on NAIDOC week and the events you can get involved in, visit their website here.
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