For many First Nations people, Australia Day is a day of mourning and sadness. Kombumerri traditional landowner and First Nations leader, Justine Dillon, wants to change the narrative.
“This Australia Day, we are able to conduct a healing ceremony to change our energy for the day that means something different to our people. It is a great move forward and first of its kind in our Nation, to have a ceremony with settlement families and First Nations of the Gold Coast to heal our Kombumerri people’s generational trauma.
"The cycle can start to be broken, by recognition and understanding, supported by our non-Indigenous community and local government. Our people have hope for a mended, shared and functional future.”
Gold Coast Hinterland Australia Day celebrations will start with a First Nations healing ceremony at dawn aimed at acknowledging the past and looking forward into the future. All Gold Coast residents are welcome to attend the event which will include a Welcome to Country, a smoking ceremony, and local Bundjalung dancers.
Division 9 Councillor, Glenn Tozer, is helping to promote the event in collaboration with Ms Dillon, Goompi (respected and recognised artist, teacher and community mentor), and Max Dillon (Kupae Girramun Galeen Kombumerri Nunukul).
“Many First Nations people in our city see Australia Day with deep sadness and sometimes anger," says Cr Tozer.
"When Justine Dillon and her team, who do some wonderful environmental and education work in the hinterland, decided they would work with my office on a plan for an event to promote healing and truth-telling, I thought it would be a step in the right direction.
"Mudgeeraba has a difficult history in this regard and a Kombumerri led community activity to talk about grief and mourning and loss seemed like a good step toward my aspiration for forgiveness and reconciliation.
"It has been a pleasure to work with Aunty Justine, Goompi, and their team. The event on January 26, 5am – 6am, will include a Kombumerri-led ceremony from 5am at Firth Park, a small breakfast event following, and the presentation of a commemorative work of art to remember our effort and commitment to reconciliation.
"I'd like Mudgeeraba to be known as an inclusive place where the truth is told and a place we can wrestle our difficult issues and find peace and resolution. I genuinely hope this event will step toward that."
Goompi sees the healing ceremony as “a proactive and positive one where the community can come together to understand the history of the area and respect the Kombumerri ancestors and their stories. Everyone wants healing, for everyone. If we can’t change the date, we can learn and come together as one.”
In the words of Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson of the Jiman and Bundjalung people, "When people work together to create safety for each other they rebuild community, and what emerges is a deepening self-knowledge not just of the individual but of the group – community is made in this activity. The ability to begin to rebuild the essence of family and community, therefore, is an essence of healing.”
The dawn event commences at 5am on Thursday 26 January, at Firth Park in Mudgeeraba. All are welcome.
