THE rain created an atmosphere that matched the sombre tone of Bathurst's Proclamation Day commemoration ceremony on May 5, where a light was shone on the dark origins of the city.
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Wiradyuri Elder Uncle Jade Flynn, also known as Yanhadarrambal, stood in his traditional possum skin cloak as he spoke of the pain colonisation had caused Aboriginal people.
Many suffered or were killed at the hands of the European settlers after Bathurst was proclaimed a town by Governor Lachlan Macquarie on May 7, 1815.
Yanhadarrambal said Proclamation Day is "hard, sad and full of turmoil for Wiradyuri people", who on this day each year "reflect on our own mortality as a race, the fact that we were almost wiped out".
He told the intimate gathering that there needs to be a conversation about the way forward.
"You are on stolen Wiradyuri land and it's time for us as a community to really think about what that means," he said.
"We can't put you back on the boats, can't send you back home. You're here, here with us, stuck with us on our Country, Wiradyuri Country.
"So what does that mean? What kind of conversation are we going to have now?"
Yanhadarrambal said that conversation needs to include reparations, which is a way of making amends for wrongdoing or injury through financial or other means, such as apologies.
"It's time for us to have conversations about reparations, justice, payback, Land Back, pay the rent," he said.
"To each person here, that's going to mean something different, and some people might be offended by those words, but I'm here to stand in my truth - dhuluny.
"Dhuluny: truth which is straight."
He said Bathurst is an "amazing place" and he is proud to call it home, but everyone has to look beyond the last 209 years and respect the rich culture that was on this land for thousands of years prior to 1815.
Dark history, but a bright future
Deputy mayor Ben Fry and the leader of the Proclamation Day ceremony, Christopher Morgan, supported Yanhadarrambal's address.
They highlighted the positive things that make Bathurst what it is today, but stressed that the dark parts of its history cannot be ignored.
"I think it's appropriate to mark this occasion and tell every narrative that comes out of colonial times," Cr Fry said.
"I'm a very proud Bathurstian 364 days of the year and perhaps this is the day that we dial down that pride and take note of some of our, to put it very mildly, colourful history that we have in the city."
Mr Morgan said learning about the events of the past can "lead us to a brighter future", and concluded his address with the words of an Aboriginal man.
He said, "A Wiradyuri-Kamilaroi man once said to me on one of these Proclamation Days that we must all walk together along the road into the future, and our journey forward, shared journey, walking together side-by-side, recognising our differences, our different histories, but walking together along one road."
Rachel Chamberlain
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
I have been a journalist at the Western Advocate since 2014.
