It was perfect, sunny weather for the crowd of around 400 at the opening ceremony.

The welcome dance was performed by students from Chatham High School who had recently returned from the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival in Northern Queensland.

The three dancers Logan Simms, Mike Slater and Ben Williams were astounded by the amount of cultural pride they experienced at the festival.

"There were four-year-olds who were amazing dancers," said Logan.

They are attempting to bring this inspiration back to the community this was reflected in their NAIDOC performance when engaging the younger kids sitting at the front.

"We always try and get the kids involved so one day they might like to dance as well."

Ryan Pearson, a former Chatham High School student remembers dancing at NAIDOC when he was younger.

Ryan now dances professionally at NAISDA Dance College in Kariong, and visited the local NAIDOC celebrations on his holidays.

Ryan said it felt good to be celebrating at home.

Ryan's inspiration for dance always comes from the land, making him resonate with this year's NAIDOC theme 'We All Stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate'.

"We perform a spirit dance called Mokuy, where we must tred lighly on the land in order to not destroy it," said Ryan.

Workshops and cultural activities were held throughout the day and included learning the didgeridoo, traditional dance, cultural walks, kayaking, language and weaving.

See below for photos from the day.