Monday, 01st July 2019

NAIDOC WEEK

1 – 7th July

The first of July marks the start of NAIDOC week, and I thought I would like to open the month of July with that.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920′s which sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

NAIDOC Week is held in the first full week of July.

It is a time to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements.

The theme this year is:

VOICE. TREATY. TRUTH.

LET’S WORK TOGETHER FOR A SHARED FUTURE.

7-14 July, 2019

This theme acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always wanted an enhanced role in decision-making in Australia’s democracy.

National Sorry Day:

Since National Sorry Day this year, I have been also making a point to sit down on the first of each month and try to wrap my head around some of our shared history.

It has been part of my private practice, but I thought I would share it here this today.

These are the sorts of things I was never taught at school.

They are sombre, and they are confronting, and we need to remember them.

Massacres in July.

I think it is important that we acknowledge the massacres of First Nation People here in Australia, so I thought, on a more sombre note, I would include those that I know of, sourced via Wiki.

This list is by no means comprehensive.

11 July 1835. The expedition team of Thomas Mitchell, during their journey to the Darling River, fatally shot at least four Aboriginal Australians after an argument over the bartering of a teapot for the sexual services of an Aboriginal woman escalated into violence. One of those shot dead was a woman carrying a baby on her back. The casualties from this encounter were probably much higher as it involved five British men shooting at a tribe of Aboriginal Australians as they tried to flee by swimming across the river. Mitchell attempted to downplay the collision by saying that the sustained shooting occurred “without much or any effect”.

1839. In about the middle of the year, the Murdering Gully massacre near Camperdown, Victoria was carried out by Frederick Taylor and others in retaliation for some sheep being killed on his station by two unidentified Aboriginal Australians. The Tarnbeere Gundidj clan of the Djargurd Wurrung people, around 35–40 people, was wiped out. Public censure led to Taylor’s River being renamed Mount Emu Creek and, fearing prosecution for the massacre, in late 1839 or early 1840 Taylor fled to India. Of particular note for this massacre is the extent of oral history, first hand accounts of the incident, the detail in settler diaries, records of Weslayan missionaries, and Aboriginal Protectorate records.

July 1865. Native troopers ambushed a Darumbal ceremonial gathering outside Rockhampton in Queensland, and shot dead 18 Aboriginal Australians, and then set fire to their corpses.

12 July 1867. A Native Police detachment under the command of Sub-Inspector Aubin conducted an early morning shooting raid upon a peaceful camp of Aboriginals located at the Morinish goldfields. Seven people were killed including an old man, with others severely wounded. Although Sub-Inspector Aubin was forced to resign, he faced no public inquiry or any further legal action.

Other Dates:

There are loads of interesting dates in July, and I might come back to create some more posts around them, but this was something I wanted to share today, and I wanted it to stand alone, out of respect.

Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.