Reconciliation week starts every year on the 27 May the anniversary of the referendum of 1967 that saw Aboriginal people gain their rights as Australian citizens. The week finishes on the date that commemorates the Mabo decision a landmark court case in Aboriginal Land Rights.
It was a great pleasure and privilege to this week be able to perform the opening of Sholahven City Councils Reconciliation Week contribution with the Pallingjang - Saltwater exhibition that has been hung in the foyer of the Council administration building at Nowra.
Check out Reconciliation Australias website it has great activities for young people and the young at heart.
This is a copy of the speach I gave for the begining of Reconciliation Week- thanks to input by Margaret Simoes Councils Aboriginal Community Development worker.
Good morning all and welcome to Shoalhaven City Council, It is with the deepest respect that I acknowledge all the Aunts and Uncles, elders past and present custodians of the land on which we gather. I acknowledge the suffering and pain that has occurred in the past and still today with our Aboriginal sisters and brothers in the Northern Territory and Torres Strait. I welcome all Aboriginal people here and value your contribution to contemporary life and your commitment to passing on your unique and ancient cultural heritage.
• It’s a great pleasure and privilege to open The Pallingjang- Saltwater 2009 Exhibition as part of Councils contribution to Reconciliation Week. This years theme “Lets Talk Recognition” gives us all an opportunity to yarn about our hopes and aspirations. To recognise and acknowledge the contribution Aborignal people have made to Australian, and particularly to the Shoalhaven. We need to make sure that topics such as Constitutional Recognition and a Treaty are given the opportunity to be front and centre.
• I would like to start that conversation by saying that I hope we can gather here again to continue to build strong and trusting relationships, not just in Reconciliation Week, but ongoing throughout the year.
• Australia has seen 44 referendums with only 8 of them carried- making the 1967 referendum monumental for Aboriginal People and reflects the sentiment of the nation. It is imperative that we work together for the outcome that Aboriginal people desire not that of the state.
• I see this exhibition as a way to build relationships within our community. Many people pass through the doors of this building who might not ordinarily go to a gallery. Surely they will be struck as I was when I first saw the collection hung and be drawn to stop, breath for a moment and admire the visual feast before them.
• I acknowledge the significance of the Aboriginal name ‘Pallingjang’ meaning ‘saltwater’ in Tharawal language; it is a fitting name for works from the coast. Some of the works you can see the coastal inspiration reflected.
• The Exhibition, originally curated by Wollongong City Gallery in 2009, recognises local Aboriginal knowledge, traditionally translated orally, that now has been transferred into something visual.
• While the Pallingjang - Saltwater 2009 included artists from the entire South Coast Region, the artworks selected for this Reconciliation Week Exhibition presents six artists from the immediate Shoalhaven area:
o Julie Freeman,
o Loretta Parsley,
o Steven Russell,
o Mally Smart,
o Jodie Stewart and
o Phyllis Stewart.
• Thank you all for sharing your works with us, I know the feeling of having a little piece of you on exhibition for all to see- it creates a certain type of nerves, excitement and apprehension all rolled into one.
• Since 1995 the Pallingjang project has provided a forum for the exploration of local and South Coast Aboriginal art and culture.
• The project has developed and evolved over the years through an insistence on consultation and collaboration and through the concerted effort, contributions and dedication of the many artists, curators and Wollongong City Gallery staff who have worked on the project.
• I would like to officially launch the Pallingjang – Saltwater 2009 Exhibition in as part of our celebration for Reconciliation Week. I hope that this years Reconciliation Week gets the important conversations fired up.
Thank you and please join me for morning tea.
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