A new coin commemorating the 50th anniversary of the NAIDOC committee will enter circulation tomorrow, ahead of next week's NAIDOC celebrations in Adelaide. The coin was designed by an Indigenous artist hailing from the Northern Territory, who managed to keep a lid on the achievement for more than two years.
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00:00A throwaway application from this artist who will now see her designs circulate around
00:06the country.
00:07Yeah, I got a phone call, I couldn't believe it, I kept asking the committee, are you sure?
00:13Courtney Glass had her design selected to front a special commemorative coin, celebrating
00:17the 50th anniversary of an Aboriginal-led NAIDOC, the 27-year-old hailing from Catherine
00:23in the Northern Territory, making her way to Adelaide for the unveiling.
00:27It's really special here today just to see it in the flesh and then also just share it
00:32and celebrate it with not only the committee but also my family.
00:36A family also trekking down from the NT with no idea of what was in store.
00:41I just told them it was an art project and yeah, they had a bit of a surprise and shock
00:46when they saw what I actually created, which was fun.
00:49She kept it as a secret even from her partner, I don't know many people that could do that.
00:54Ms Glass was selected from around 30 Indigenous artists, with a design that best represents
01:00NAIDOC's role.
01:01Courtney Glass's design epitomises to me what NAIDOC is about.
01:07It's about bringing us together, it's about recognition of us going forward as a nation.
01:14If you want to get your hands on one of these, you better move fast.
01:17The commemorative coins go via an online ballot on the Mint's website and you can get these
01:22regular ones via a coin swap in Adelaide and Perth from Friday.
01:26The coins unveiling comes just days before the start of NAIDOC week in Adelaide, an important
01:31time for Indigenous people around the country.
01:33It's a week of celebration but also acknowledging our history, so it's amazing that this will
01:40be a part of history as well.