Social Justice Report 1998 : Appendix 2: Selected Inventory of Apologies and National Sorry Day Events

Social Justice Report 1998

Appendix 2: Selected
Inventory of Apologies and National Sorry Day Events

The Bathurst
community said 'sorry' yesterday, in a communal gathering leading
the way in the reconciliation process.

Politicians,
church leaders, community members and the local Aboriginal community
gathered in Peace Park yesterday for 'Sorry Day', organised by local
members of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

The Western
Advocate (Bathurst), 25 August 1997

The trade union movement yesterday formally apologised to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islanders for the removal of their children.

The President
of the ACTU, Ms Jennie George, yesterday told the movement's congress
in Brisbane that all fair-minded and compassionate people would have
been moved by the findings of the recent Stolen Generations inquiry.

Addressing the
former head of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission,
Ms Lois O?Donoghue, Ms George said: 'Please hear us when we express
to you our deep sorrow for the actions of those who caused your people
such harm. On behalf of this congress, please accept our formal apologies
for the wrongs that were done to your people. We are truly, truly
sorry'.

The Age,
5 September 1997

Bankstown Council has apologised to more than 1700 local Aborigines
for the past treatment of their people. Councillor Richard McLauglin
put forward the motion that council acknowledge and apologise for
'past State and Federal policies affecting the separation of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander children from their families'.

Bankstown
Express, 30 September 1997

Warrawong Public School principal, Sash Manojlovic, has apologised
on behalf of his school for past injustices imposed upon Aborigines.
The unprecedented apology, made during Universal Children's Day yesterday,
has surprised some parents and the Aboriginal community. 'I say sorry
for the horrendous practice of separating children from their parents,
forcing them to live and grow in isolation', Mr Manojlovic wrote in
a school newsletter.

The Illawarra
Mercury, 23 October 1997

The Federation of Parents and Citizens' Associations of New South
Wales, extends to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
an unqualified apology for the Federation's compliance in the official
policies of assimilation which held sway in Australia for decades.
This apology was unanimously supported, in principle, by the Federation's
July 1997 Annual Conference.

Federation
of Parents and Citizens Associations of New South Wales, Media Release,
18 November 1997

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and our undersigned
members deeply regret the damage caused by the forcible separation
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.
…

It is only through
the commitment of all government and non-government organisations
to make reparation and the support of the wider community that non-indigenous
and indigenous Australians can heal the wounds of the past and create
a solid foundation for a shared future. Without such a commitment,
the reconciliation process, embarked upon with such hope, will be
rendered meaningless.

Australian
Council of Social Service, Statement of Apology and Commitment, November
1997

Computer consultant, Anthony Shipley, yesterday gave a petition to
Fremantle MHR Carmen Lawrence, urging the Government to apologise
to the generation of Aboriginal children taken from their parents
and placed in foster care. The petition contains the electronic 'signatures'
of 5461 Internet users who put their names to the campaign. (At time
of publication, there were more than 11,000 names to the apology.)

The West
Australian, 9 February 1998

Eurobodalla's 'sorry book' was launched in Mogo last week. Suggested
by the Eurobodalla Walking Together Group, the book was handmade by
Mick Ivory & handpainted by South Coast Koori artist, Colin Davis,
himself a member of the stolen generation.

The Illawarra
Mercury, 12 February 1998

At a gathering of more than 4,000 people in Musgrave Park, the Lord
Mayor of Brisbane, Jim Soorley, used the ritual of handing the keys
of the City of Brisbane to Elder Herb Bligh to symbolise that Indigenous
people are welcome in the City. He expressed the sorrow of the people
of Brisbane for the pain and suffering caused by past injustices and
of their determination to work together for reconciliation and healing.

ANTaR (Australians
for Native Title and Reconciliation) Newsletter No. 3, March 1998

The Dubbo Reconciliation Group launched a sorry book in Dubbo today
and will be presented to a delegation representing Indigenous Australians
on national 'Sorry Day'?on May 26.

The Daily
Liberal (Dubbo), 12 March 1998

The President of the Vietnamese Community in Victoria, Thanh Van Le,
and the President of the Republic of Vietnam RSL sub-branch, Victoria,
in a letter to the Editor, stated 'we understand about the loss of
home, family and cultural values, and we too would like to express
our deep sorrow to all Indigenous Australians for their suffering
and offer our support for genuine reconciliation'.

The Age,
3 April 1998

A historic commitment honouring the partnership between Newcastle
City Council and the region's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people was signed last night.

The document,
which represented a commitment from the Council the principles of
reconciliation, acknowledged the suffering of Australia's Indigenous
people. It was signed during an Aboriginal dance performance on the
stairs of City Hall last night.

The reconciliation
process concluded with a ceremonial knocking at the City Hall doors.
The group was greeted by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cr. Heys, who
wore his ceremonial chain and robes. Cr. Heys said the document recognised
the community's effort to see the past clearly 'I do not find it hard
to say sorry for particular sins perpetrated by my culture, including
the stolen generation issue,' he said. 'We have a clear responsibility
as a nation to see the past clearly, such that we can see our way
clearly ahead, and this is what this commitment is about.'

The Newcastle
Herald, 15 April 1998

The University of Canberra's graduation ceremonies this week will
be marked by a formal apology to Indigenous Australians.

Yesterday, Chancellor
Wendy McCarthy, drew the attention of the first group of 1800 students
to graduate over the next two days to the fact that they were standing
on ?Ngunawal land'. Ms McCarthy said such a tribute to traditional
owners was 'part of the reconciliation process, which the University
supports'.

The University
Council has prepared a document, to be circulated across the University
this week, which apologises for the wrongs that have been done to
Aborigines.

The Canberra
Times, 23 April 1998

The small town of Cootamundra (population 6,500) said sorry this weekend
to the hundreds of stolen Aboriginal daughters who were brought from
all over NSW to the 'training home' on the hill.

In an RSL hall
bedecked with painted paper hands, the Mayor of Cootamundra Shire
Council, Councillor Paul Braybrooks, handed a 'Sorry Book' to one
of the home's former residents, Mrs Patsy Miller, who wept. …

'I read some
of the Sorry Book. Some of the words people have written have amazed
me. All these years, I never realised they felt like that,' she said.
If she thought the people of Cootamundra had known what was going
on in the home, she would not have been able to forgive. Now, she
believes they did not know.

The Sydney
Morning Herald, 18 May 1998

The New South Wales Police Commissioner, Peter Ryan, officially apologised
on 23 May 1998 to members of the stolen generation and all Indigenous
people for 'the prominent role the police played in enforcing past
unjust laws'.

'Police over
a long time were the public face of the Government as the agents of
the Government, police caused unimaginable pain and anguish to Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities, families and particularly
mothers and children by the forcible removal of children,' Mr Ryan
said.

Sydney
Morning Herald, 23 May 1998

The YWCA of Australia pledges to work closely with our Indigenous
brothers and sisters to redress these wrongs, acknowledging that we
cannot change the past, only lessen the pain and suffering. Our organisation
commits to reconciliation and to ensuring the voices of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islanders are heard. We want to hear your stories,
share your sorrow and work towards a brighter future for Australia.

To all of our
Indigenous sisters and brothers, we sincerely apologise and hope that
you can find it in your hearts to forgive us as members of a nation
that stole your children and devastated your lives.

YWCA of Australia,
quoted in Walking Together, Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation,
July 1998

The Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee seeks to respond and be
part of the wish of the majority of Australians to participate in
the creation of a confident and harmonious nation where

• We acknowledge
  Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original inhabitants
  of this continent and we recognise their loss of land, children,
  languages, health and kin.

• We believe
  that Australia will only become a mature nation if the past is acknowledged,
  the present understood and the future confidently based on the co-existence
  of rights.

Vice-Chancellors
are committed to providing higher education pathways for Indigenous
students and contributing to the process of reconciliation as leaders
of education institutions which share with the Australian community
the cultures, languages, history and contemporary experiences of Australia's
Indigenous people.

Australian
Vice-Chancellors Committee, quoted in Walking Together, Council
for Aboriginal Reconciliation, July 1998

Thousands of Australians have attended 'Sorry Day' gatherings at more
than 300 venues around the country, formally apologising for the creation
of assimilationist policies inflicted on Indigenous peoples.

The Canberra
ceremony attended by some Labor politicians, saw many of the 1000
strong audience weep at the testimonies.

In Sydney, a
civic reception at Government House marked the handing over of 1000
'Sorry Books' by New South Wales Governor Gordon Samuels to stolen
generations survivors Nancy de Vries and Wendy Hermeston.

In Melbourne,
following a welcome song by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, an interfaith
service was held at St Paul's Anglican Cathedral. At the end of the
service the bells of city churches were rung in a synchronised pattern
to mark the beginning of the journey home for the stolen generations,
and a commemoration of the lives of those Indigenous Australians who
never returned home.

In Brisbane,
Link-Up [Qld] in conjunction with the Brisbane City Council held a
ceremony in the city centre, Suncorp Park, where members of the stolen
generations from Cherbourg and the Torres Straits told their moving
stories. Brisbane Lord Mayor Soorley formally apologised for past
government practices on behalf of the Brisbane City Council.

In Adelaide,
city councils including Adelaide, Marian, Port Adelaide-Enfield, Salisbury
and Tea Tree Gully held ceremonies which incorporated the presentation
of Sorry Books to local Elders. At a reception at Adelaide Town Hall,
more than 60 Indigenous representatives heard Dr Lowitja O?Donoghue
outline the policies and effects of child removal and her own experiences
as one of the stolen children.

In Launceston,
a ceremony at the Aboriginal Elders Council of Tasmania saw the presentation
of Sorry Books to Elders, a member of the stolen generations, and
two Aboriginal youth. Local Elder Alma Stackhouse, from Flinders Island,
spoke to the audience about removal practices in Tasmania, where about
200 children were taken from their families.

In Darwin, at
a ceremony at Parliament House, Sorry Books were handed to Elders
in front of 300 people who broke out into impromptu song at the end
of the ceremony. The Books were presented in a coolamon to symbolise
an empty cradle.

In Alice Springs,
organisers were very pleased with a turn-out of 300 people at the
council chamber lawns where there was a flag raising and the handing
over of 'Sorry Books' to traditional owners.

In Perth, Sorry
Day was commemorated in the forecourt of Parliament House which included
apologies from government and churches. Sorry Books were presented
after a minute's silence and the singing of the 'Sorry Song' by the
150-strong Co-existence Choir.

The Koori
Mail, June 3 1998

3
April 2003.