YOUR local
YOUR GOOD-NEWS PAPER
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ISSUE 011 FRIDAY, 16 FEBRUARY, 2018
National Apology Day
Students and staff from Catholic schools in Wagga, Leeton and Coolamon attended the 10-year National Apology commemoration at the Marrambidya Wetlands in Wagga.
T
pennie scott
HE amphitheatre in the Marrambidya wetlands adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River has living energy, palpable, as you enter the space. This week marked the 10th anniversary of the National Apology made to Indigenous Australians by then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. It was a time to remember that event and the reasons behind it. It was a solemn group gathered at the Marrambidya wetlands to share the anniversary event on Wiradjuri land and hear Auntie Kath Wither’s Welcome to Country. “On behalf of Wiradjuri Elders past and present, you are warmly welcomed to our
country and we wish you safe travel while you are here. “Our spirit ancestors offer their wisdoms and are here to guide your life journey and we acknowledge our totem, the goanna,” she said. Wagga Mayor, Councillor Greg Conkey, avowed the pledge to strengthen the bonds between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community. “It is only through respecting and supporting each other and working together we continue to move forward as a strong and thriving community,” Councillor Conkey said. He then quoted from Kevin Rudd’s original Apology, “We reflect on the past
mistreatments, especially of the stolen generations, and the blemished character in our Australian history. “The time has come to write a new page in our history. “We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments which have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on our fellow Australians. “In the future we take heart resolving this new page so the history of our great continent can now be re-written; a future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility. Mt Austin High School captain, Layhnee Kearnes, also spoke to the gathering, saying:
“I’d like to acknowledge traditional owners of this land and pay my respects to elders, past and present. Being a young Aboriginal girl, and to think kids were taken away from their happiness and a mum and dad they’d never know and to have their past denied, lingers in my heart. “Sorry day to me means it is a day to acknowledge and recognise members of the stolen generation, and it’s also a day to give people the chance to come together and share their steps towards healing for the stolen generation, their families and community,” Layhnee said. The Wagga Wagga City Council and Wiradjuri Elders are planning for National Sorry Day on 26th May.
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