
Native hibiscus, rodeo romance and solid rock for Reconciliation Week
Our colleague Paula Shaw works from Jagera and Turrbal country in Meanjin, Brisbane, and has been busy connecting, commemorating and celebrating this Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week.
I got to two quite different events in Brisbane this year for Reconciliation Week. The first was a National Sorry Day commemoration on the site of a former “home” for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls taken from their country to be forced into domestic labour roles with white families. The second was the launch of a new rom-com novel by Wiradjuri poet, author, satirist and social commentator, Professor Anita Heiss.
The National Sorry Day Commemoration was hosted by Link-Up, an organisation that helps members of the stolen generation to reconnect with their families and communities. The commemoration happened on the site where the Aboriginal Girls Home called Cranbrook House once stood. From 1899 to 1906, it operated as a State Government “training depot” to which Aboriginal women and girls as young as five years old from across the state were taken. The ceremony included sharing stories of the suffering and struggles of girls and young women who spent many years of their lives trying to find their way back and reconnect with their family and country.

Everyone attending wore a Sorry Day Flower – a pale purple desert rose or native hibiscus. This flower symbolises the resilience of members of the stolen generation, because it is widespread across Australia – and it is a survivor. While much of the ceremony centred on acknowledging these deeply traumatising experiences that have affected generations, there was also celebration of resilience – with a traditional dance performance, some beautiful singing – and plenty of good food.
That theme continued at the book launch for Red Dust Running – Anita Heiss’s newest novel featuring rodeo romance. As well a reading by the author, there was line dancing (harder than it looks!), prizes for best cowboy outfit and a local Voices for Reconciliation choir rendition of the 1982 iconic anthem Solid Rock.
Between these two events, Reconciliation Week ran the gamut from sorrow and pain, and remembrance of gross and cruel injustices, through to healing and celebration of Indigenous resilience and excellence, and the warmth and fun of community coming together.