Reconciliation Week is only a few days away and this year, the Moree community is encouraged to come together to celebrate our diversity and the great things people from all backgrounds are doing to create harmony.
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“Reconciliation Week is about the positive that’s happening in the Moree community, about Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people celebrating working together and walking together,” Moree Reconciliation Week committee member Cathy Duncan said.
“It’s about knowing stories from the past, to stories that are happening now, to creating stories for the future about Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
“It’s about relationships, it’s about respect and it’s about Moree and the future that Moree can have by people working together.”
National Reconciliation Week runs from Saturday, May 27 until Saturday, June 3, marking two milestones in Australia’s reconciliation journey – the 1967 referendum and the historic Mabo decision, respectively.
This year is particularly significant as it marks 50 years since the 1967 referendum which saw a majority of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census, and 25 years since the historic Mabo decision which legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a special relationship to the land.
The theme for this year is ‘Let’s take the next steps’, encouraging Australians to continue our reconciliation journey.
To celebrate the week, Moree Reconciliation Week has a jam-packed calendar of events planned to celebrate the relationships between local indigenous and non-indigenous people.
To kick things off, this Friday is National Sorry Day, commemorating the mistreatment of the stolen generation.
At 10am Pius X will be holding a morning tea which will feature a flag-raising and guest speakers. This will be followed by a block party at Boughton Oval at 11am which will include a smoking ceremony, traditional dancing, guest speakers, entertainment and a free barbecue.
On Saturday and Sunday the community is encouraged to participate in the Moree Race Red Shield Appeal. Contact Jason on 0425 390 723 for times.
On Monday, May 29 Barwon Learning Centre will hold a breakfast at 8am.
This will be followed by the official opening at 10.30am at Moree Plains Shire Council’s banquet hall where 44 Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people will be announced on the Moree Elders Honour Roll.
There will be a morning tea at 11am at Moree Public School and a barbecue at Moree TAFE at 12pm on Tuesday.
A new activity on this year’s calendar is the Reconciliation Obstacle Challenge on Wednesday from 3.30pm to 5.30pm which promises to be a whole lot of fun. Teams of four with at least one female and one Aboriginal and one non-Aboriginal person can compete in a range of activities for people of all ages and abilities.
It will also be an opportunity for Moree’s elders to train for the inaugural Mungindi Elders Olympics.
“It’s about working together and teamwork, all the things that underly the spirit of Reconciliation Week,” committee member Jess Duncan said.
On Thursday, June 1, Moree Secondary College will have a canvas painting display with pizza and coffee.
Finally, the week will end with a bang at the annual Reconciliation Week Awards at Moree Town Hall on Friday, June 2 starting at 6pm.
More than 70 people are nominated for the awards which recognise the great things both indigenous and non-indigenous people are doing in the community
“It is a really good initiative to get the whole community working together; that’s what we need to do in Moree,” last year’s non-Aboriginal Elder of the Year Peter Glennie said.
Tickets are $25 or $12.50 for aged pensioners and can be purchased at the Aboriginal Employment Strategy in Balo Street. Call Cathy Duncan on 6752 3422 for more information.
To nominate a team for the Reconciliation Obstacle Challenge, drop into the AES or email Cohen Trindall on cohen.trindall@aes.org.au