Help us celebrate National Reconciliation Week together

Published on 30 May 2018

Sunraysia residents are invited to join hundreds of thousands of people across Australia in celebrating National Reconciliation Week this week.

National Reconciliation Week runs from Monday 27 May until Sunday 3 June and is bookended by two significant events in our country’s reconciliation journey - the anniversary of the successful 1967 referendum (27 May) and the historic Mabo decision in 1992 (3 June).

Mildura Rural City Council and the Aboriginal Action Committee will hold its own special celebration to mark this important week on Friday with a free community barbecue in the Langtree Mall.

Starting at midday and running through until 2pm, the event will feature information stalls and community art activities and is a chance to join together to celebrate the importance of National Reconciliation Week.

Councillor for Community Development and Gender Equality Ali Cupper encouraged residents to embrace the event, which will include representatives from Mallee District Aboriginal Services.

“Reconciliation Week is a chance for us to celebrate and build on the respectful relationships shared by Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians,” Cr Cupper said.

“It’s a time when we can learn more about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, particularly given our region’s rich Aboriginal culture and history, which is in keeping with this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme – Don’t Keep History a Mystery: Learn. Share. Grow.”

The 1967 referendum, Australia’s most successful, saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and recognise them in the national census.

The High Court of Australia’s Mabo decision meanwhile legally recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a special relationship to the land, a relationship that existed before colonisation and still exists today. It was a decision that paved the way for Native Title.

For more information contact Council’s Social Inclusion Officer Catherine Thompson on (03) 5018 8100.

Media enquiries 
Ben Piscioneri
p) (03) 5018 8689 
e) ben.piscioneri@mildura.vic.gov.au