ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-10-08 · by Lucy Loram and Kirrin McKechnie
In Inala, a suburb near Brisbane, Indigenous youth participate in a Rite of Passage Ball that combines traditional debutante ball elements with cultural heritage activities. The event includes workshops on public speaking and ballroom dancing led by Frances Lomas over eight weeks, culminating in a formal ball where young people, like 15-year-old Lilee Randall, wear gowns and suits to celebrate their transition into adulthood. Chelsea Watego, an academic involved in the program, emphasizes its significance as both a cultural tradition and a response to colonial practices, highlighting how it empowers Indigenous youth over the long term.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
On the outskirts of Brisbane, a group of First Nations youth are embracing the western tradition of the debutante ball, while celebrating their own heritage.
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group → embrace → heritage
One by one, girls in white ball gowns glide across the stage, taking the hand of their partners dressed up in suits.
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girls → glide → suits
They are stand on the precipice of their adult lives, as they turn to present themselves to an audience filled with family members.
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they → stand → members
For two decades, young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Inala have taken part in the Rite of Passage Ball.
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people → take → Ball
"It's pretty unique, I haven't heard of much people my age who get to do stuff like this," said 15-year-old Lilee Randall.
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Randall → hear → this
Lilee is one of dozens who have just completed the program, which is designed to help First Nations youth prepare for their transition into adulthood.
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youth → complete → adulthood
"It's a big thing in our culture, like coming of age, so it's really celebrated," she said.
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she → come → age
From public speaking to ballroom dancing
Program coordinator with Inala Wangarra, Frances Lomas, leads the teenagers through eight weeks of workshops.
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coordinator → lead → workshops
"A lot of the kids come here and start the program very shy, they don't engage with a lot of the other kids.
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they → come → kids
In this setting, our first workshop is a lot of team building," Ms Lomas said.
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Lomas → say → building
The workshops gradually incorporate public speaking and traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance lessons, before the young ones try their hand at ballroom dancing.
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ones → incorporate → dancing
"At the beginning, they're just like girl boy germs, and at the end they're just loving it," Ms Lomas said.
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Lomas → love → it
Waltz, progressive swing, and cha cha are some of the dance styles they pick up.
"
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they → pick → styles
I'm nervous about messing up and stuff like that, hopefully other people know their steps, but overall I'm excited," Lilee said.
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Lilee → mess → steps
The importance of ritual
The origin of the debutante ball can be traced back hundreds of years, where opulent parties were held to introduce young women from affluent families to high society.
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parties → trace → society
But coming-of-age ritual dates much further back for First Nations Australians.
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ritual → come → Australians
Chelsea Watego is a Munanjahli and South Sea Islander writer and academic, who has researched the survival of Indigenous peoples locally and globally.
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who → research → peoples
"From birth to death, we walk with our community throughout all stages of life," Professor Watego said.
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Watego → walk → life
"We recognise the importance of these traditions, to have something to look forward to, but also to counter the prevailing social imagining about our people in our community.
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We → recognise → community
This is a process of building up our young people in the community for the long term."
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This → build → term
Professor Watego, who is a founding member of Inala Wangarra, has also seen all five of her children participate in the Rite of Passage Ball.
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five → found → Ball
"It's interesting that it has a real colonial feel to it, like the old debutante ball, but we bought it back some years ago at the request of young people on our Youth Advisory Committee," she said.
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she → have → Committee
"So, it's a colonial tradition, but it was Indigenous kids in Inala who said, 'we want to have this for ourselves.'
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we → say → ourselves
"
Twenty years after its introduction, now multiple generations of Inala-based families have taken part in the Rite of Passage Ball.
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generations → base → Ball
"I've been waiting for this my whole life since my siblings done it," said 15-year-old Taleii Brady.
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Brady → wait → it
"My dads done it, my older siblings done it, I'm the last one to do it now."
Ms Watego said the Rite of Passage Ball had allowed for cultural identity to persist in the modern day society.
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identity → do → society
"So mob are still identifying in relation to place … even here in suburban areas like on the outskirts of Brisbane.
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mob → identify → Brisbane
That culture is still alive, our kinship systems still operate.
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systems → operate → ?
They've changed a bit, because of course they have, but our mob have always kept our culture alive."
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mob → change → culture
The Aporia