Wiradyuri leaders mark 200 years since emergency declaration of martial law
Today marks 200 years since martial law was declared in the central west of New South Wales to curb brutal frontier clashes. It's a little-known piece of Australia's history which had devastating consequences for the Wuradyuri people of the region. This week, a grassroots process of truth-telling, called the Dhuluny project, is hoping to change that.
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00:00A show of solidarity and support for historic truth-telling.
00:08On this day in 1824, 200 years ago, the British declared an emergency state of martial law
00:14to stop escalating frontier violence.
00:17In our language we say gariyala, duliyala and duloyin, which is talk straight, tell
00:24the truth and then standing in that truth.
00:27Wurundjeri elders like Aunty Lianna Carr want the history of this region acknowledged.
00:32As the British colony expanded west over the mountains from Sydney, brewing conflict between
00:37the settlers and the Wurundjeri people over dwindling resources led to bloodshed and war,
00:43sparking the Martial Law Declaration.
00:45We were left instructions by our old people and one of the instructions was don't forget
00:52about us.
00:54An art exhibition, workshops in traditional possum skin craft and tonight's corroboree
00:59are an invitation to the Bathurst community.
01:01The significance of this event can't be underestimated.
01:05This was the New South Wales colonial government putting into legislation a state of emergency
01:13to basically be able to inflict violence upon Aboriginal people west of Mount York.
01:19Historian Stephen Gapps has written a book about the so-called Bathurst War and says
01:23the details are confronting.
01:25It's often shocking to come and read documents where people are proudly talking about killing
01:32Aboriginal people.
01:33It's unclear if a national truth-telling body, a Makarrata Commission, will be established
01:38to investigate our country's dark past.
01:41In the meantime, communities like this one are starting their own grassroots projects.
01:45For us to heal as a country and for us to move forward, it starts with truth-telling.
01:51Shedding a shared path to the future.