Australian Capital Territory
The Unfinished Business of Bringing Them Home: National Sorry Day Policy Forum
In the lead up to National Sorry Day 2024, join The Healing Foundation and ANU’s First Nations Portfolio for a special event to draw crucial attention to the Bringing them Home report’s outstanding recommendations.
The forum will feature a panel discussion with one of the lead commissioners of the inquiry Professor Mick Dodson, the former Attorney-General Michael Lavarch AO and Stolen Generations survivor Dr Jennifer Caruso. You will also hear from The Healing Foundation Board Chair Professor Steve Larkin and CEO Shannan Dodson, ANU Vice-President (First Nations) Professor Peter Yu and Ngambri, Wallabalooa and Wiradyuri Elder Aunty Dr Matilda House.
Event date: Wednesday, 22 May 2024
Event time: 2:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Event location: Arc Cinema, National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Cct Acton ACT
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Click HERE to register to attend the event in person.
National Sorry Day Bridge Walk
All are invited to join community for The Bridge Walk across Commonwealth Avenue Bridge at 10:00 AM, with the walk to commence at 10:30 AM.
Welcome to Country, Smoking Ceremony, food and entertainment will be provided (all dietary requirements will be catered for).
Schools are encouraged to participate in the Schools Banner Competition, by designing a banner to march with on the day. The banner should interpret what Sorry Day means to you and your school. A prize will be awarded to the most creative banner on the day, the winner will be announced by our special guests.
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Event name: National Sorry Day Bridge Walk
Event date: Friday, 24 May 2024
Event time: 10am-2pm
Event location: Regatta Point, Canberra
Event Host: Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service and The Healing Foundation
New South Wales
Cooee Festival
The COOEE Festival is a Link-Up (NSW) event based in Western Sydney that promotes and celebrates Aboriginal Australia’s survival and resilience.
The COOEE festival is a community based annual event that gives Aboriginal people the opportunity to share, learn and represent culture through traditional corroborees, practices, and ceremony. We also encourage Non-Indigenous people to attend and take the opportunity to experience and learn Aboriginal culture. The festival features market stalls, food trucks, art exhibitions, live music, Indigenous guests, kids world, elders tent and more.
Event host: Link-Up (NSW)
Event date: Saturday, 25 May 2024
Event time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Event location: Peter Van Hasselt Park, Shalvey NSW
Event host: Link-Up (NSW)
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Sorry Day Stolen Generations Community Gathering
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation is delighted to invite you to a very special community gathering to commemorate our Stolen Generations Survivors past and present.
National Sorry Day (26th May) is a day of great significance to Coota Girls Survivors (former residents of the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls 1912-1969), their families and descendants, and the broader Stolen Generations community. Each year, National Sorry Day commemorates and acknowledges the atrocities faced by First Nations children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, and the continuing impact of forcible removal and assimilation policies on Stolen Generations Survivors, their families and whole communities.
This year on Sunday 26th of May 2024 Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation will host our second annual Sorry Day event on Tarpeian Lawn (Gadigal Country) overlooking an amazing view of Sydney Harbour. This Sorry Day Stolen Generations Community Gathering aims to provide a space for the continuing important work of truth-telling and healing.
We invite you to enjoy the beautiful views of Gadigal Country, chose from a selection of delicious First Nations foods, support First Nations business by purchasing from a selection of stalls, connect with each other, and immerse yourself in the many cultural and educational experiences available.
Sorry Day Stolen Generations Gathering 2024
Event date: Sunday, 26 May 2024
Event date: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Event location: Tarpeian Lawn Royal Botanic Gardens, Macquarie Street Sydney Gadigal Country.
RSVP: alicia@cootagirls.org.au
All Stolen Generations Survivors, family members and descendants, First Nations people and non-Indigenous supporters are welcome to attend this event.
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Northern Territory
National Sorry Day Family BBQ
Congress Link Up invites Stolen Generation members and their families to commemorate National Sorry Day.
National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of the Stolen Generation Survivors and reflect on how we can all share in the healing process.
Event date: Sunday 26 May 2024
Event time: 12pm – 3pm
Event location: Alice Springs Telegraph Station
Event Host: Congress Link Up
Click HERE to download the flyer
Queensland
National Sorry Day Breakfast 2024
This commemorative event acknowledges the strength of Stolen Generations survivors and reflects on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation.
Event Highlights:
- Welcome to Country by Shannon Ruska
- Musical Performances by Rochelle Pitt, the Deaf Indigenous Dance Group and the Songshine Choir
- Keynote address by Ross Andrews
- Wreath-laying and cake-cutting
- Hot breakfast for all to enjoy!
West End’s Orleigh Park was once the location of the Aboriginal Girls Home ‘Cranbrook House,’ which served as a depot for Aboriginal girls being sent into domestic work. We gather here to remember the lives of those who lived in the home and to honour their descendants, many of whom join us annually.
Event date: Friday 24 May 2024
Event time: 8-10am
Event location: Orleigh Park, 68 Hill End Terrace, West End (Brisbane)
Event Host: Link-Up (Qld)
Web link: https://www.link-upqld.org.au/sorrydaybreakfast24-brisbane/
Click HERE to download the flyer
South Australia
Colebrook Families Event
Come together to reflect, share stories and celebrate our resilience and overcoming challenges as the next generations after the stolen generation.
Event date: Saturday, 25 May 2024
Event time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Event location: Colebrook Reconciliation Park, Shepherds Hill Rd, Eden Hills SA
Event host: Blackwood Reconciliation Group
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Blackwood Reconciliation Walk 2024
Blackwood Reconciliation Walk is an important annual community event uniting and connecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in commemorating the Stolen Generations. This year’s walk is of particular significance, marking 100 years since the first removals of First Nations children under the auspices of the United Aborigines Mission in Oodnadatta, South Australia, in April 1924.
Event date: Sunday, 26 May 2024
Event time: 11:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Event location: Gladstone Road Carpark, Blackwood (next to Blackwood RSL), walking to Colebrook Reconciliation Park, Eden Hills SA
Event host: Blackwood Reconciliation Group
Walk map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s2r66qLDWf1NTary7
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Victoria
National Sorry Day event
Connecting Home, Link-Up Victoria and VACCA invite Stolen Generations survivors and their families, community members and others interested in joining us on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country to commemorate National Sorry Day. Come along for a day of reflection, connection, unity and healing.
This is a free event. Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony. Guest speakers from Connecting Home, VACCA, City of Melbourne and Stolen Generations Reparations Unit, Department of Justice.
Please contact Link-Up Victoria to register your attendance Email: linkup@vacca.org or ring 7002 3700
Event date: Sunday, 26 May 2024
Event time: 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM
Event location: Koorie Heritage Trust, Yarra Building, Federation Square (cnr Swanston Street & Flinders Street), Melbourne VIC 3000
Event host: Connecting Home, Link-Up Victoria and VACCA
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Victoria Police Apology Stolen Generation
The Chief Commissioner of Police Shane Patton APM invites the Aboriginal Community to hear Victoria Police’s acknowledgement and apology for our role in the removal of Aboriginal children of the Stolen Generations from their families and communities. The event will include food and refreshments.
The event will also be live streamed. To learn more about this event and to watch it, please click on the link: police.vic.gov.au/apology
Event date: Friday, 24 May 2024
Event time: 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Event location: ABORIGINES ADVANCEMENT LEAGUE – 2 Watt St, Thornbury VIC 3071
Event host: Victoria Police, Yoorrook Justice Commission Response Taskforce
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Sorry Day at Knox
Knox City Council will be observing National Sorry Day on Sunday, 26 May, a day where we acknowledge members of the Stolen Generation and their suffering.
Please join us. The ceremony is to be held around the Yarning Circle at Knox Civic Centre from 10:00 AM.
The event will include:
- A traditional Welcome to Country.
- Smoking ceremony.
- Keynote speech by Aunty Jill Gallagher CEO, VACCHO.
- Message from the Mayor.
- Yidaki performance by Ash Dargan and time to yarn with Aboriginal catering and coffee.
For more information visit https://www.knox.vic.gov.au/our-council/culture-and-diversity/aboriginal-community-knox/national-sorry-day or register here to attend.
Remember, if you are a member of the First Nations Community there is always room for you even if the free tickets sell out.
Event date: Sunday, 26 May 2024
Event time: 10:00 AM
Event location: Knox Civic Centre, 511 Burwood Highway Wantirna South Victoria
Event host: Knox City Council
Click HERE to download the flyer.
National Sorry Day Glen Eira
Join us as we come together as a community to honour the journey towards healing and reconciliation on this significant day of remembrance and reflection.
Event date: Sunday 26 May 2024
Event time: 3-5pm
Event location: Glen Eira City Council – Auditorium, Caulfield Victoria
Event Host: Glen Eira City Council
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Sorry Day Morning Tea
Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation invites Stolen Generation Survivors, Agencies, Community Members and Families to join us celebrate National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, for a complimentary viewing of ‘ The Last Daughter’.
This will follow our annual Flag Raising and morning tea, to discuss and reflect on those who have been affected by the policy that changed the lives of so many.
Event Date: 2023-05-27
Event Time: 9:30 AM
Event location: Nindedana Quarenook Collins St, Morwell.
Contact Details: Brendan 0439467844
Click HERE to download the flyer.
Western Australia
National Sorry Day
This event is for members of the Stolen Generations Elders.
Welcome To country, lunch and morning tea provided, slide show and music on the day.
Please RSVP Melissa on 9428 3700 by 7 May 2024 for catering purposes.
Event date: Thursday, 16 May 2024
Event time: 10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
Event location: Burswood on Swan Venue – 1 Camfield Drive, Burswood WA
Event host: Yorgum Link-Up and Derbarl Yerrigan
Click HERE to download the flyer.
National Sorry Day Perth 2024
Event held under cover at the site of the Perth Stolen Generations Memorial at Wellington Square. Begins at 11:00 AM and progresses through Welcome to Country, screening a new Stolen Generations documentary – Genocide in the Wildflower State, a related panel Q&A, a smoking ceremony, lunch and acknowledgements, finishes 1:30 PM.
No registration or fee required. This information and any changes will be posted on https://www.facebook.com/bringingthemhomewa/ and https://www.facebook.com/stolengenerations/
Event date: Sunday, 26 May 2024
Event time: 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Event location: Stolen Generations Memorial at Wellington Square, East Perth WA 6004
Event host: Yokai Healing our Spirit (West Australian Stolen Generations Aboriginal Corporation) & Bringing Them Home (WA) Ltd.
Click HERE to download the flyer.
