'It has to come from all sides': A focus on healing at Ballarat's Survival Day service

The Noongar man will be speaking at the fifth Survival Day Dawn service in Ballarat.

He said the ceremony is important because it is a way to never forget what happened to Aboriginal people 236 years ago.

"Aboriginal people are still saddened by what happened, five generations later - we're still affected by what happened that very day," Mr Harris said.

He said the only positive of the day is the ability for Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to become closer.

Reflecting on the 2023 Voice to Parliament referendum result, Mr Harris said his community will now have to work for change via "the long way".

"The saddest thing that hurt me was that non-Indigenous Australians love the country, they love everything about it," he said.

"But they don't respect the First Peoples and that has to change, it cannot come from one side, it has to come from all sides."

Mr Harris said he is now looking for new ways to find different ways to tackle the challenges he sees his community facing.

"Nobody's listening to us, we have no voice, so what do we do?" he said.

"We've got to do it a different way ... we have great leaders that will, I know we have survived 125,000 years, so this is only a little hiccup."

In addition to the dawn service, for the first time there will be a Community Reflection and Healing Day at View Point, Lake Wendouree.

Koorie Engagement Action Group committee member Adina King said she was excited about the new activities because it allows people to be immersed in her culture.

"We want them to understand we are not excluding anyone," she said.

"We want them to be a part of Australia's culture."

Activities include a poetry workshop, didgeridoo lessons, craft stations, author talks and local musicians.

Ballarat deputy mayor Peter Eddy said he had been to three dawn services since they started in 2020.

"What always strikes me is the transference of knowledge over the generations," he said.

"I don't think the white community do it anywhere near as well, in terms of passing knowledge on to our younger generation."

The dawn ceremony will be held on January 26 at 5.30am and goes for about an hour.

People will gather at View Point, Lake Wendouree.

Cultural activities will then take place at View Point from 9am.

At 1.30pm, Wadawurrung woman Macaylah Johnson will then lead a botanical cleansing ceremony.

There will be other activities across Ballarat on the day, including around the lake and at Victoria Park.