Reconciliation – what it means to me

Sharing Stories

Reconciliation – what it means to me

I was born in Darkinjung country, and grew up there surrounded by bushland and beaches on the Central Coast NSW. Reconciliation was awakened in me when I was young, walking with my father along a beach near our home, while dad recounted how he’d taken part in protests to save the land from developers and give the land back to her rightful caretakers, the Indigenous people of the area. I did not know any people who identified as Aboriginal when I went to school or to university but I had a strong sense of social justice and gradually learnt some of the history we were not taught at school.

In 2006 I was lucky to travel from Perth through the Kimberley’s to Darwin, visiting beautiful country and really got a sense of this sacred land of ours. I began working with Indigenous organisations in Darwin and met many wonderful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who took me into their hearts and homes and introduced me to their culture and families. It was a time of great learning for me and I am humbled by the accepting, forgiving and forward looking nature of the people I met.

I returned to the Northern Territory in 2008 to attend Garma Festival. What a privilege! 5 days of camping on escarpment country in Arnhem Land at a gathering of more than a thousand Indigenous people, academics, government representatives and tourists. All together we celebrated traditional and modern Indigenous culture, such as dancing up the land through nightly bunguls (ceremonial dance), Indigenous rock concerts with guest stars like the chooky dancers, participated in women’s ceremonies to cry up the sun and attended lectures and workshops on issues of importance such as employment, education and culture. It was at this festival I met people from the NSW Reconciliation Council and became involved on my return to Sydney. The people in the movement are fun, creative, passionate and a joy to work alongside.

In Darwin I received the Australian history education I believe we are all entitled to - I watched videos of courageous people telling their stories of massacres that happened to their families and it broke my heart wide open. Suddenly there is new understanding, new empathy and your point of view is changed forever. I have friends who are part of the stolen generation, such sadness and yet they forgive, are open-hearted and devote their lives to helping their people - unsung heroes. Now I work with Indigenous people born as late as the 1960’s and 70’s who tell me terrible stories of discrimination, of the shame of watching their mother being told to wait outside the shop until all the white people were served, and my eyes are continually opened to how different life is between black and white in this country.

I am involved in the reconciliation movement because I believe in equity and justice for all. We, the non-Indigenous people of this land have a lot to learn about our history, much of which is hard to hear, but once we hear the stories we will be moved and motivated to create an equal and just Australia. Our fellow Indigenous Australians also have many other wonderful teachings about the land and ways of living they are willing to pass onto us – this is a valuable and exciting gift we are being offered and one I am truly grateful for.

Megan Wallace, Treasurer, NSW Reconciliation Council volunteer

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