Aboriginal Day of Mourning - 26 January 1938
Declared in 1938 by the Aborigines Progressive Association on the 150th Anniversary of British Colonisation. Yorta Yorta leaders including Jack Patten, William (Bill) Ferguson, William Cooper and Sir Doug Nicholls were instrumental in organising the first national gathering of Indigenous people protesting against the prejudice and discrimination that was a daily part of their lives. Further resources.
Cummeragunja Walk Off - 4 February 1939
Over 200 Yorta Yorta People living at Cummeragunja, then Mission Station, in Barmah, walked off the reserve in 1939 due to the increasingly restrictive controls upon the movement and activities of the people, the poor rations and cruel treatment they received and the increasing removal of children.
National Apology to the Stolen Generations - 13 February 2008
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations. Further resources.
Apology Breakfast - held alongside the William Cooper Memorial Statue 7.45am - 8.55am each year (if 13 February falls on a weekend, the event is held on the following Monday). Organised by Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group.
National Sorry Day - 26 May
Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
The first National Sorry Day was held in 1998, one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Bringing Them Home report is a result of a Government Inquiry instigated by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission into the past policies which caused children to be removed from their families and communities in the 20th century.
Sorry Day Commemoration - held at Monash Park, Shepparton, 10am on 26 May each year. (If this date falls on a weekend, the event is held on the following Monday). Organised by Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group.
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 27 May to 3 June
The dates for NRW remain the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey – the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.
NAIDOC Week - first Sunday to second Sunday in July
Dharnya Day - held at the Dharnya Centre Barmah on the Wednesday during NAIDOC Week. Organised by Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation.
Rumbalara Family Day - held at Rumbalara, Mooroopna on the Thursday during NAIDOC Week. Organised by Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day - 4 August
