Survival Day 26th Janurary 2011
"We, representing the Aboriginies of Australia...on the 150th Anniversary of the white men's seizure of our country, hereby make protest against the callous treatment of our people ...and we appeal to the Australian nation of today...for full citizen status and equality within the community." Jack Patten, Day of Mourning Conference, 26th January 1938
See text version of Minister Linda Burney's Kevin Cook Lecture
Minister Linda Burney: Kevin Cook Lecture 2011
A statement, a celebration of survival, a protest against the invasion of our lands and the genocide of our people, a symbol that begs the question; has reconciliation really been successful? Or has there ever even been a conciliation in Australia between the nation's First People and White settlers of this continent?
The 26th of January: What does this date mean to you?
The 26th January is a date of vigorous debate for our people, and the Australian nation respectively. Marked as an official date by government for Australia, as a nation, to celebrate white settlement, it was in 1938 that the tide turned. It was this year that saw Aboriginal leaders of NSW declare the date as a 'Day of Mourning.'
Bill Ferguson, William Cooper and Margaret Tucker led the charge in organising a protest and a conference for 26th January 1938. It wasn't until 1988, however, that over 40,000 Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous supporters marched in Sydney to mark the 200th anniversary of invasion (Significant Aboriginal Events in Sydney, City of Sydney).
The force behind this march gave birth to an annual day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to mourn the invasion and killing of ancestors, as well as celebrate our survival. This day would forever be known as 'Invasion' or 'Survival' day to Indigenous Australians nation-wide.
What governments and white settlers didn't count on, with their systematic policies that aimed at the dying out of the 'Aborigine race,' was the fighting spirit, the cultural and significant connection to land and the strong blood lines of our people that would continue the innate connection to our Aboriginality that would prove unbreakable.
We have survived!
NSWALC at Survival Day 2011
The NSW Aboriginal Land Council proudly sponsored two major state-based Survival Day festivals; the Annual Yabun Festival, hosted by Koori Radio 93.7FM and held in Central Sydney at Victoria Park, and the Saltwater Freshwater Festival hosted by the Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance Aboriginal Corporation and cited as the largest regional Aboriginal Cultural event on the Mid North Coast.
Yabun 2011
At Yabun this year, NSWALC in conjunction with Tranby Aboriginal College hosted the Kevin Cook Lecture. The Kevin Cook Lecture at Yabun (Survival Day 2011) was delivered by the honourable Linda Burney MP, Minister for Community Services, and the first Aboriginal person to serve in the NSW Parliament. NSWALC Councillor Roy Ah-See also spoke and introduced Minister Burney.
Named in honour of Kevin Cook, the annual lecture is aimed at reinvigorating the debate and fight for the Rights and Advocacy for Aboriginal People of NSW and across Australia.
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Kevin Cook was the General Secretary of Tranby Aboriginal College and the first elected Chairperson of NSWALC. In the mid 70s, Kevin used the political and organisational skills honed in the trade union movement to effectively campaign for the introduction of what became the first ever Land Rights Act in NSW. NSWALC was formed in 1977 out of the Black Defence Group which never stopped campaigning for recognition of our dispossession. Kevin never sought personal recognition for his pivotal role in the struggles through the seventies and beyond. |
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Saltwater Freshwater Festival 2011
The Saltwater Freshwater Festival honours Aboriginal people of the Mid North Coast region of NSW and celebrates national and regional Aboriginal culture.
The Festival is described as 'nomadic' in that it moves to different towns of the region each year. This year the beautiful Port Macquarie was host.