Reconciliation Week
27th May - 3rd June
Acknowledgement of Country
We respect and honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on this land and commit to building a brighter future together.
What is National Reconciliation Week?
National Reconciliation Week is celebrated each year from27th May to 3rd June
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories and relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation.
Reconciliation is a journey for all Australians – as individuals, families, communities, organisations and importantly as a nation. At the heart of this journey are relationships between the broader Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The week is framed by the anniversaries of two significant milestones in our reconciliation journey - the successful 1967 Referendum (27 May) and the High Court Mabo decision (3 June).
The theme for National Reconciliation Week 2021 is 'More than a word. Reconciliation takes action'.
National Sorry Day
National Sorry Day
26th May
On our continued pathway towards reconciliation, Sorry Day on 26 May is an important moment to remember the past policies of forced child removal. Here, we reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognise moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry.
During the 20th century, Australian government policies caused children to be separated from their families, with the intention of assimilating them into White Australian culture. This resulted in what became known as the “Stolen Generations", with the effects of these traumatic removals being felt by succeeding generations today.
Sorry Day commemorates the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of an ongoing process of Reconciliation.
The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children began as early as the mid-1800s and continued until the 1970s.
1909: the Aborigines Protection Act gave the Aborigines Protection Board legal sanction to take Aboriginal children from their families in New South Wales.
1937: All Australian States adopt policies to ‘assimilate’ Aboriginal children of mixed descent.
1950s: During the 1950s and 1960s, great numbers of Aboriginal children were removed from their families in the name of assimilation. They became known as the Stolen Generation.
1970s: Aboriginal children continue to be removed from their families into the 1970s. Aboriginal groups begin to receive funding to challenge these very high rates of removal.
26 May 1997: The Bringing Them Home Report is tabled in Federal Parliament. This report talked about the painful history of the Stolen Generations, and made 54 recommendations for moving forward including holding a national Sorry Day every year.
26 May 1998: The first official Sorry Day is held to acknowledge the impact of forcible removal policies on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. 28 May 2000: The Corroboree 2000 Bridge Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge shut down traffic and made national headlines as hundreds of thousands of people walked in support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
13 February 2008: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologises to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, for the policies which ‘inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these, our fellow Australians'.
The Apology