HUNDRED of people are expected to gather this Sunday 9 June to commemorate the unprovoked massacre of 28 Wirrayaraay women, children and old men by a group of stockmen on Myall Creek Station in 1838.
The Myall Creek Memorial on the Bingara-Delungra Road near Inverell, was erected in June 2000 by a group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people working together in an act of reconciliation.
In 2008 the massacre site and memorial received national recognition when it was included on the National Heritage Register.
In announcing its inclusion, Mr Peter Garrett, then federal Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, said the memorial was “a sign of how we continue to grow and mature as a nation.”
“That we come to terms with our past, acknowledge it, identify it and then move forward together, sharing the future.”
The Myall Creek Memorial also received NSW state heritage listing in 2010.
Guest speaker Grant Sarra, has over 30 years’ experience working in areas that deal exclusively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community aspirations, problems and issues relevant to public and private sector organisations and projects throughout Australia.
The winner of the annual Thoughts and Dreams – Student Art, Writing and Song Competition will be announced at the event.
Sponsored by the ‘Friends of Myall Creek’ National Committee and Sydney Friends of Myall Creek, the competition encourages students from Kindergarten through to Year 12 across North-west NSW, to address and express different concepts of Reconciliation. This year’s theme was ‘What is Sorry? ’.
An exhibition of the finalists will be displayed in the hall. Plans for an educational and cultural centre to be built near the site are in progress and will be outlined to those attending.
The annual memorial service is open to everyone. Those intending to participate are invited to gather at the Myall Creek Hall by 9.30am Sunday 9 June for morning tea. A great local CWA lunch will be available after the ceremony for a small charge.
