It's Reconciliation Week here (from the 27 May - 3 June) - but commemorated very differently this year to past years (another COVID-19 effect).
It's 20 years ago this year since we joined the first historic Peoples Walk for Reconciliation across Sydney Harbour Bridge on 28 May 2000, together with about 300,000 other people in what is now described as the largest political demonstration ever held in Australia.
It took 6 hours for the huge crowd to cross the bridge at walking pace. It was a peaceful and joyous day - and the size of the crowd surprised everyone.
We all cheered when this was written across the sky above us - a direct rebuke to the government of the day for refusing to apologise to the Stolen Generations, as recommended by the Bringing Them Home Report (26 May 1997).
It was an emotional moment for us when we got our first glimpse of the Aboriginal flag flying proudly on Sydney Harbour Bridge for the first time ........
At the start of the walk, Milson's Point - not a great picture but my little bit of history from 2020!
All of Canberra's Reconciliation Week events had to be changed this year with no chances for people to "Walk Together" in a physical sense.
But we made it down to the lake two nights over the weekend - for a little sunset reverie at our National Carillon which had been illuminated with different art works each night created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, on the theme of Reconciliation.
to a background of this magnificence ......
We took Ollie and Angus with us on Saturday night for that evening's light show ......
The stay COVID-19 safe sign in the background of this shot will give it a historical context!
We have made a certain progress towards Reconciliation over the past 20 years - especially amongst our young people... but still SO FAR to go!
It's 20 years ago this year since we joined the first historic Peoples Walk for Reconciliation across Sydney Harbour Bridge on 28 May 2000, together with about 300,000 other people in what is now described as the largest political demonstration ever held in Australia.
It took 6 hours for the huge crowd to cross the bridge at walking pace. It was a peaceful and joyous day - and the size of the crowd surprised everyone.
We all cheered when this was written across the sky above us - a direct rebuke to the government of the day for refusing to apologise to the Stolen Generations, as recommended by the Bringing Them Home Report (26 May 1997).
But we made it down to the lake two nights over the weekend - for a little sunset reverie at our National Carillon which had been illuminated with different art works each night created by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, on the theme of Reconciliation.
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