Skip to main content

Search

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

Social Justice Report 1998

  • Back to Contents
  • 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.