“ We expect up to 400 people to join us for a chance to share the truth about our colonial past with the families of the victims and the murderers.
We want everyone to know that these massacres didn’t happen during some distant past but 10 years after the end of the First World War.
We remember those who lost their lives in that war every year, in every town around Australia. We have a special public holiday for it and lots of memorials everywhere.
What about our fallen loved ones?
Truth telling, along with agreement making and an Aboriginal voice to parliament, is a theme of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Central Land Council chair Francis Kelly.
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Families affected by the Coniston Massacre from around Australia have gathered at a meeting of the Central Land Council outside Yuendumu, getting ready to remember the innocent men, women and children killed during a series of massacres in 1928.
Today they will travel to the remote outstation of Yurrkuru (Brooks Soak), approximately three hours north west of Alice Springs, to commemorate with songs, dances, speeches and prayers the 90th anniversary of the killings.
Yurrkuru is the site of the murder of the dingo trapper Fred Brooks which triggered the revenge parties led by Police Constable George Murray between August and October 1928 that have become known as the Coniston Massacre.
The families of an estimated 100 murder victims are planning to speak at the event, alongside members of Constable Murray’s family and political leaders such as Senator Patrick Dodson and NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner.
Their families unveiled a plaque at Yurrkuru in 2003 and plan to call for annual events commemorating the massacres and for interpretive signs at the many massacre locations.
They also want all school children to be taught about the frontier wars.
Mr Kelly, one of the creators of the documentary Coniston which will be shown at the CLC meeting tonight, said he is particularly pleased to welcome students from surrounding Aboriginal communities to the commemoration.
“Until all Australians know about the crimes committed against our families we can’t move forward as one mob, one country,” he said.
“Other countries with murderous pasts have managed to come together by speaking the truth. If they can do it, why can’t we?”
The Aboriginal man on the 2 dollar coin.His name was Gwoya Jungarai and he was one of the only survivors of one of the last recognised massacres of Aboriginal people, the 1928 Coniston Massacre in Central Australia.
Almost every Australian has seen his face, held his likeness in their hands but how many know his story?
Today Friday the 24th of August 2018 will mark the 90th anniversary of that atrocity. We will remember him as well as those others who did not survive.Lest we forget the Frontier Wars.
Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion Press Release
The anniversary was a solemn commemoration from or the families and descendants of the victims as well as for the entire Central Australian community.
Today community members from Central Australia gathered at Yurrkuru to commemorate 90 years since the Coniston massacre.
The Coniston massacre was a series of killings between August and October 1928, with large numbers of Aboriginal people from the Warlpiri, Anmatyerre and Kaytetye nations killed.
Minister for Indigenous Affairs Nigel Scullion said that the anniversary was a solemn commemoration for the families and descendants of the victims as well as for the entire Central Australian community.
“It is important that we remember the Aboriginal men, women and children who were killed during this dark chapter of Australian history and acknowledge the impact on families and communities that these crimes have on First Nations peoples,” said Minister Scullion.
“Today we also reflect on the resilience of the local Traditional Owners in more recent history. In 2014 I was honoured to join Traditional Owners and deliver a deed of grant to the Yurrkuru Aboriginal Land Trust – handing back land which was central to the Coniston massacre.
The Central Land Council hosted an event to commemorate the massacre at Yurrkuru (Brooks Soak), approximately 60 kilometres from Yuendumu. The event brought together Aboriginal families from across Central Australia, as well as descendants of those responsible.
“I commend the Central Land Council for this work to ensure that the Coniston massacre is never forgotten.”