Do you know why Reconciliation Week is commemorated on the same dates every year, and has done so for the last 20 years?  

26 May 1998 was the first National Sorry Day.  This annual event commemorates the anniversary of the ‘Bring Them Home’ report and remembers the grief, suffering and injustices experienced by the stolen generation. 

27 May 1967 Referendum.  On this day over 90% of Australian people voted Yes for Aboriginal Rights. The first change meant that Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders could be protected by the same laws as the rest of the population and the second change meant they were included in the census. 

3 June is Mabo Day. This day commemorates Mer Island man Eddie Koiki Mabo and his successful efforts to overturn the legal fiction of terra nullius, or ‘land belonging to no-one.’ On this day in 1992 the High Court of Australia made a historic decision which recognised native title. 

This year’s theme for Reconciliation Week is  More than a word:   Reconciliation takes action urges the reconciliation movement towards braver and more impactful action.