AUSTRALIA Day got off to an early start with the Beaudesert and Jimboomba Rotary clubs launching the 2023 Australia Day bike ride at 5.30am.
The event started as it should, with permission granted by the Mununjali to traverse country from Jimboomba to Beaudesert, passing several sacred sites on the way.
Mununjali elders Auntie Geraldine Page and Auntie Janis Page were on hand at 5am to see the first riders depart and perform a traditional smoking ceremony.
Auntie Janis said she had set her alarm clock for 2.30am.
"I hit the snooze button three times but then I was outside in the dark collecting leaves for the smoking ceremony," she said.
The elders were accompanied by Mununjali man Cameron Fogarty, who played his didgerido as the riders headed off.
The ride started at the Jimboomba Community & District Hall, where paintings depicting Mount Barney was on display after being created at an art workshop hosted by Rotary and made possible with National Australia Day funding.
The workshop was led by Mununjali artist Derek Fogarty with support from Rotary volunteers and local Indigenous elders.
The riders will take on either 30, 75 or 100 kilometres with refreshment stops along the way.
