We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country of the Dungala (Murray) - Kaiela (Goulburn) Valleys, the clans of the Yorta Yorta Nation; Bangerang, Kaieltheban, Kwat Kwat, Moira, Ulupna, Wollithiga and Yalaba Yalaba. We acknowledge their continuing connection to land, water and community and pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to their Elders past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge that sovereignty of these lands and waters has never been ceded. Always was, always will be.
As the sun rose, the breeze picked up. The temperature was 14ºC, but with the wind, it felt much colder.
Would people brave the unseasonal dip in temperature and be there?
The volunteers who were coming to set up arrived, almost blown in by the wind.
Pulling on T-shirts proclaiming ‘Help Healing Happen: it’s time to act’. Such a powerful message.
The tables and chairs arrived. The volunteers getting them in place, cloths flapping as they battled to smooth them out. Programs with the words of the Apology, bookmarks and gum leaves out on the tables.
The Apology — or to give it its full title, The National Apology to the Stolen Generations — was the reason we were gathering.
On this chilly Monday morning, February 13, it was the annual Apology Breakfast in Queen’s Gardens in Shepparton. A time to gather and reflect on the words delivered 15 years previously. Words that were so important then, and that are still important today.
That one word: ‘Sorry’.
It held so much power, so much emotion, so much healing.
On this day 15 years ago, the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, rose to his feet on the floor of the House of Representatives in Canberra. So much expectation, and with breath paused, people wondered what would be said. The Prime Minister began:
“I move that today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
“We reflect on their past treatment. We reflect in particular, on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations, this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.”
He continued:
“The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.”
The word ‘Sorry’ repeated.
Sorry for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander children from their families, their communities and their country. Sorry for the pain, suffering and hurt of the Stolen Generations, their descendants and families left behind. Sorry for the indignity and degradation experienced by the proud peoples and proud cultures across the continent.
The Apology — a part of the healing of the nation.
So, 15 years later, in the careful hands of ASHE student Nathan Bourke, the smoke of the fire was gently coaxed into existence and the coolamon so carefully carried, allowing the healing smoke to waft over the crowd.
The sound of the didge echoed around the park, calling everyone to be present, to step into the respectful space that was being created. To listen. To reflect together.
As part of the Welcome to Country, Elder Aunty Pam Pedersen highlighted the role the non-Aboriginal community could have in responding to the hurt, pain, suffering and trauma of Stolen Generations’ members, their families and communities.
Being present, listening and learning. Giving acknowledgement. Being willing to go beyond the words, to step into the feeling space, the deep understanding. It was the story told by proud Shepparton and Cummeragunja Yorta Yorta man Jarvis Atkinson that allowed us an opportunity to go beyond the words, into the feeling space.
Jarvis, the 2023 Apology Breakfast guest speaker, using the lyrics of Uncle Archie Roach’s song Munjana, wove a story of the impacts of government policies — of loss of belonging, of pain, of separation and of a mother’s love. A story that encouraged us to reflect on the impacts of past laws and policies, to understand the very human impacts of our nation’s past actions. To acknowledge that this happened.
Jarvis’s story and the National Apology to the Stolen Generations both contribute to the truth-telling called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
To finish, the ethereally haunting words of Shanikwa AJ’s song Who Am I? gently reverberated in the space — again an invitation to understand more.
So yes, the people did come — in greater numbers than in the past — and by doing so they became part of the healing of our nation.
To listen to Uncle Archie Roach’s song Munjana, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgYDiIYKDck
To read the Uluru Statement from the Heart, visit https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/