DAYS OF SIGNIFICANCE

This week is a busy week on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Days of Significance calendar.    

National Sorry day

The recognition of past wrongs in Australia has been described as 'the test we've always failed'. National Sorry Day recognises the negative impact of Australian policies, practices and attitudes on Indigenous people. The Bringing Them Home report recommended that a National Sorry Day be held each year on 26^th May ‘to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects’. As a result of this recommendation the community-based organisation the National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC) was formed.

Anniversary of the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum.

In 1967 over 90% of Australians voted in a Referendum to remove clauses from the Australian Constitution which discriminated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The Referendum also gave the Commonwealth Government the power to make laws on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week was initiated in 1996 to provide a special focus for nationwide activities.

National Reconciliation Week offers people across Australia the opportunity to focus on reconciliation, to hear about the cultures and histories of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to explore new and better ways of meeting challenges in our communities.

The Week is timed to coincide with two significant dates in Australia’s history, 27 May and 3 June.

Mabo Day

Mabo Day is held on 3 June to celebrate Eddie Mabo, who helped overturn ‘terra nullius’ in a ten year campaign through the courts ending in the historic High Court Mabo Judgment.

- Cath Parker

Contact person for Aboriginal Education