Sorry Day

National Sorry Day is an Australia-wide observance held on 26 May each year. This day gives people the chance to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities. Stolen generations refer to Indigenous Australians who were forcibly removed from their families.

Between 1910 and 1970, an estimated 100,000 Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their communities. On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered an apology about the Stolen Generation to Australia’s Indigenous peoples in the Parliament of Australia House of Representatives.

On Tuesday 22 May, Aunty Jenni McEwen, a Bunjalung Woman, spoke to Year 7-10 students. Our special guest, though not a part of the Stolen Generation, was taken from her parents at the age of 12 and put into an orphanage because the government said she was neglected. She shared her experiences growing up as an Aboriginal child and what it was like to be in Canberra when the apology was given.

It is so important for this part of history to be understood by all Australians and we thank Mrs Marilyn Fraser, our Aboriginal Education Worker, for organising this event, and for Aunty Jenni McEwen for sharing her story with us.