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 National Reconciliation Week

SPEECH

Lindsay Dean WARG member

Today's meeting is held on the sacred ground, of the Whadjuck people and as such I would start my speech by acknowledging the Whadjuk peoples traditional and ongoing connection to this country and I also take this opportunity to acknowledge the Whadjuk representatives present today and I pay my respects to their elders past, present.

The Whadjuk custodianship of Wadjemup dates back tens of thousands of years from an ancient stone tool found on the island dating 25,000 years, examined and dated by experts at the Australian National University show this place as an important meeting place for Whadjuk people. Wadjemup is extremely sacred to the Whadjuk people as its the place where the spirits of their deceased travel on their journey to the Dreaming. Today on Wadjemup there are 17 sites listed under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

I pay respect to the 4000 aboriginal warriors who arrived in chains aboard sailing vessel from ports as far south as Esperance and to Wyndham in the north, I and many other Aboriginal people visiting Wadjemup feel their presence. I also acknowledge the numbers of Aboriginal prisoners who were shot escaping or who perished on their journeys on foot and in heavy chains to the ports to embark on the journey to Wadjemup. 370 plus are buried in unmarked graves below where we stand today.

I wish to acknowledge my fellow speakers:

Ms Carol Innes the Co-chair of Reconciliation Western Australia; and

the Honorable Paul Papalia CSC, Member for Warnbro MLA and Minister for Tourism, Racing and Gaming; Small Business; Defence Issues; Citizenship and Multicultural interests

Michelle Reynolds CEO and members of the Rottnest Island Authority

Fellow members of the Wadjemup Aboriginal reference group

Members of the RIDG and other dignitaries present at today's opening of National Reconciliation week in Western Australia.

I applied to become a member of the Wadjemup Aboriginal Reference Group because of the need for the State to recognise the struggle for recognition of these prisoners and the impact the prison had on the Aboriginals nations of Western Australia. The unique and significant history of the island and its potential to become one of the most important focal points for reconciliation and healing.