National Reconciliation Week 2022
Help tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation
Date Posted:
30-May-2022
NRW 2022 Illustration by Torres Strait Islander illustrator, Tori-Jay Mordey
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) in Australia (27 May - 3 June) is held to celebrate Indigenous history and culture and to celebrate and promote respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.
These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey the 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision,30 years ago this year.
The theme for this year "Be Brave. Make Change" is a challenge to all Australians - individuals, families, groups, organisations and government to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.
This week is also an opportunity for all Australians to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories, to participate in events, to share that knowledge and help grow as a nation.
Be Part of taking actions that Make Change.
We, Sisters of Mercy Parramatta Congregation, came to this area in 1888. For over 60,000 years, this area comprising present day Parramatta has been occupied by the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Darug, who first settled along the upper reaches of the Parramatta River. Burramattagal is thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for 'place where the eels lie down' to breed (within the Parramatta River).
As we prepare to move forward together, this week offers us and all non-Indigenous Australians a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. More information about the traditional owners of this land, the Darug people, can be learned here.