National Reconciliation Week is intended to celebrate Indigenous history and culture in Australia and foster reconciliation discussion and activities. It started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993, developing into National Reconciliation Week in 1996.

History and background

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) was created by the

Australian Parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...

under the ''Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act 1991'' and was funded with a sunset clause till 2001. The 1993 Week of Prayer for Reconciliation was initiated and supported by major religious groups in Australia. In 1996 the CAR held the first National Reconciliation Week, The start and end dates, 27 May and 3 June, were chosen for their historical significance: the former marks the anniversary of the 1967 referendum in Australia, and the latter marks the anniversary of

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

judgement on the landmark Mabo v Queensland case of 1992, which recognised

native title in Australia Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have righ ...

for the first time. In 2000, an estimated 250,000 people walked across the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

, and in Brisbane, the People’s Walk for Reconciliation attracted an estimated 70,000

Description

National Reconciliation Week is now organised by

Reconciliation Australia Reconciliation Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit foundation established in January 2001 to promote a continuing national focus for reconciliation between Indigenous (i.e. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and non-Indig ...

, a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organisation created to take over the duties of CAR. The week is intended to celebrate the history and culture of Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia ...

people in Australia, and foster reconciliation discussion and activities. The day before the start of the week, 26 May, is National Sorry Day, first held in Sydney in 1998 and now commemorated annually to honour the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...

Reconciliation Day

Reconciliation Day is a

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

marking the start of National Reconciliation Week. It is held on the first Monday after or on 27 May, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum. It was held for the first time on 28 May 2018.

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.reconciliation.org.au/national-reconciliation-week/, Reconciliation Australia: National Reconciliation Week Australian Aboriginal culture Indigenous Australian politics May observances June observances

History and background

Description

Reconciliation Day

See also

References

Further reading

External links