Neil Morris alongside other groups and Indigenous Elders are planning a Day of Mourning event at Queen’s Gardens on Sunday.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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A peaceful protest is set to take place to commemorate January 26 as a Day of Mourning this weekend.
The event, which will take place at Queen’s Garden, Shepparton, is predicted to see hundreds of people attending sharing one common belief — January 26 is a day of mourning.
The protest has been organised by the Yorta Yorta Shepparton Aboriginal Working Group in collaboration with several key Yorta Yorta community figures and Elders in the community.
Neil Morris is one of the event founders and chair of the Yorta Yorta Shepparton Aboriginal Working Group and he is also part of organising the Wulumburra and Still Here led dawn service which will take place earlier that day.
Mr Morris said the protest was an add on to the dawn service as an assertion of the sovereign rights and actions of Yorta Yorta people to hold a space for mourning on Yorta Yorta lands.
“We realised, that yes, the dawn service is something intimate and an initiation of doing something and a very sombre affair,” he said.
“The vision has always looked at how do we expand to do something bigger on the day that is a broader event with the same tone and theme of the day of mourning and open up that space to some different energies.”
Mr Morris said the protest was also prompted from last December’s council meeting where council voted eight to one to re-implement an annual Australia Day event on January 26 in Shepparton.
It also follows on from council’s decision last year to reinstate Australia Day event funding for January 26 after voting unanimously in 2022 to not fund any Australia Day celebrations on January 26.
Michael Bourke conducting a smoking ceremony at last year’s protest after council’s decision to re-implement a Shepparton Australia Day event.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Kate Auty from Euroa standing with Elder Bobby Nicholls as they discuss council’s decision at the protest held at the Queen’s Gardens last year.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Not only will the protest take place across the road from where that decision was made, the location of the Queen’s Gardens also holds cultural significance for Yorta Yorta people.
“There’s burials of our people beneath where the council building sits, and this has been a long known fact among our people,” Mr Morris said.
“There’s a tragic irony that we have these ongoing difficulties of colonial makings that are relating directly to the council’s lack of understanding of where we truly sit today.
“The sad reality is their very operation is built on our demise and pain and the destruction that’s occurred in the past.”
The gardens are also home to a statue of Yorta Yorta activist Elder William Cooper, who played a pivotal role in the original Day of Mourning event that occurred on Gadigal land in Sydney in 1938 alongside other Yorta Yorta ancestors like Elders Marge Tucker, Jack Patten and Sir Doug Nicholls.
The first Day of Mourning (left) William Ferguson, Jack Kinchela, Isaac Ingram, Doris Williams, Esther Ingram, Arthur Williams, Phillip Ingram, Louisa Agnes Ingram OAM holding daughter Olive Ingram, and Jack Patton. Photo sourced from the AIATSIS Collection
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Contributed
Michael Bourke, who is also a founder of the event and part of the working group, said that holding this event followed directly what their ancestors did on that first day of mourning.
“We believe we must honour our ancestors and continue what they started 87 years ago on Gadigal lands,” he said.
“They stood up for a reason, which is the same reason we stand for today.
“Australia Day has only been celebrated on this day for 29 years.
“Respectfully, we would like to see this removed from this date to give us the opportunity to drive change, unity and healing in our community together through acknowledging the Indigenous experiences of this day as one tied to the genocide of our peoples dating back to the 1700s.”
Mr Morris encourages anyone who’s interested to attend and also listen in to a range of guest speakers, songs and dances that will be taking place.
“It’s going to be a really beautiful event continuing in vain of the day of mourning service that we’ve had for the past five years,” Mr Morris said.
“The intention is around how do we come together and acknowledge today in the most meaningful way and reflect what it means to our people, and share some ideas around on what is a pathway forward as we continue to move in a just way of this particular day.”
“We encourage allies to come down and support as well.”
The event will take place at the Queen’s Gardens, Shepparton at 10am on Sunday, January 26 and the Wulumbarra and Still Here Day of Mourning dawn service will take place at 5.30am earlier that day at Kaieltheban Park, Mooroopna.
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