STORY - "What a Feeling!"

I am writing this reflection only two days after being in Canberra for Prime Minister Rudd’s historic apology to the indigenous people of Australia. My brother Richard and I were there with 25 family members and we were really pleased to be there as a family. We are still gathering our thoughts and feelings about the experience and, at the moment, we are on ‘cloud nine’.

It was an awesome experience; very emotional, very draining. The atmosphere was electric. People cheered a lot during Prime Minister Rudd’s speech.

One thing that was really powerful and special for our family is that we gathered in front of Richard’s “Last Corroboree” picture. It was hanging just under the huge screen in the Great Hall of Parliament House - unfortunately we couldn’t fit into the gallery. To have this painting of Richard’s hung so prominently on such an amazing day had a lot of symbolic meaning for us.

Richard and I were struck by the fact that we were there, at Canberra’s Parliament House, where our leaders make decisions about our country; just as, many years ago, the elders of my tribe, the Gumbaingirr/Dhungutti, gathered together in our tribal area of the Nambucca Valley region. The last time our tribe gathered together to initiate young boys and to make decisions about tribal rituals, language and other traditions as well as about our future was in the 1950’s. On the day of the apology, the leaders and elders of my tribe gathered together again. What a feeling!

My initial thoughts and feelings about the apology are that it is very important as it is going to allow us to journey together – both aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Australia. A lot of the time I hear comments like “Why should I apologise? I didn’t take the children away!” What we are looking for is not so much an apology as an acknowledgement, an acceptance that this has happened and should never happen again.

Who knows what impact the apology will have on the present and future for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians? Speaking as a person working in education, we’ll still do our job, try and keep moving forward, build on our strengths and make sure we have programs in place for the wellbeing of all people.

It was an amazing day which Richard and I will always remember.

Louise Campbell

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