Mr Wighton, his partner Natasha and their two daughters were part of the 1000 strong crowd who gathered in Albury to celebrate the beginning of NAIDOC Week celebrations.

"It was one of the best I have experienced," Mr Wighton said.

"We went down there to engage with the community and celebrate our culture with the wider Albury-Wodonga community.

"It was fantastic to see a really good mix of people, not just indigenous people but there were a lot of non-indigenous people as well.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"And that is what it is all about - sharing in our rich culture and celebrating in our history together."

Mr Wighton said it was important his daughters understand their culture and celebrate it.

"They are only three and six but it is really important for us as a family to share in these events and celebrate our culture together," he said.

"It was a great family day out and it is so nice to see events like this celebrated in our local community."

QEII Square was a flurry of activity with stalls, free food, kids activities, music, speakers along with a flag-raising and smoking ceremony.

Albury-Wodonga NAIDOC Week chairman Michael Heldon said QEII Square "came alive" for the community event.

"I was just in awe at how much magic was happening and how many people we had there," he said.

"It was the perfect start to the week of celebrations.

"And it was great to see so many young people involved in the smoking ceremony, welcome to country and playing the didgeridoo."

NAIDOC Week celebrations continue on Monday with a morning tea with the Wangaratta police and a free screening of Undermined: Tales from the Kimberley at the Bandiana Area Cinema.

Events continue every day this week concluding on Sunday with the flag-lowering ceremony at The Cube courtyard in Wodonga from 12pm.

For the full NAIDOC Week calendar visit the Albury Wodonga NAIDOC Committee Facebook page.

Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here