Watch: Indigenous sculpture unveiled at Crooked Creek, Taree
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00:00Marungu everybody.
00:02Applause
00:24My name is Pastor Russell Saunders, OIM
00:26better known as Uncle Russ, an elder in my community.
00:28This area
00:30our people were moved
00:32moved from different places
00:34when white people started to settle
00:36in this area and they started to change
00:38grow and
00:40this was like I said a creek
00:42that was like many other rivers and creeks
00:44about where our people moved along
00:46the creeks and the rivers
00:48as they moved from place to place
00:50and they
00:52they hunted and gathered
00:54along here and they stopped over
00:56and they had campfires and families
00:58and they moved along
01:00further
01:02but this was the last place
01:04where our people lived
01:06along here and it was all tea tree
01:08scrubbed right through here
01:10before the show ground was built
01:12before they put the sewage works there
01:14near the creek and people were
01:16you know further away but as they came
01:18closer suddenly
01:20they did want to live next to the original people
01:22in
01:241940
01:26the government moved in and says right
01:28you people we're gathering yous all up
01:30and putting you on the mission
01:32and that's where the Sunrise Station
01:34the Aboriginal Mission was formed
01:36in 1940
01:38that's where my mother and fathers
01:40spent their childhood
01:42white people here today
01:44acknowledge of us
01:46and are very proud to be part
01:48of our understanding
01:50and
01:52say what was said here today
01:54touched my heart
01:56for here won't men say
01:58this land
02:00give this land back to the Aboriginal people
02:02and the government representing
02:04even said it
02:06here today, now that's the first I've heard
02:08in my years today
02:10and that really touched my heart
02:12I looked at Jane and she
02:14saw I was a feeling
02:16that she'd give me a cup
02:18my community
02:20say my community, black and white
02:22we share this town together
02:24now but there's still
02:26people out in my
02:28community
02:30are fearful
02:32they're frightened to
02:34really
02:36acknowledge
02:38the two cultures
02:40that we live together by
02:42and
02:44yeah
02:46and it just hurts
02:48especially that yes and no vote came through
02:50I mean
02:5294%
02:54was that said yes to
02:56us as citizens to vote
02:58this referendum
03:00that came out was for us
03:02to be recognised as the first
03:04custodians of this land
03:06and 65%
03:08of Australians
03:10now when I say of Australians
03:12people
03:14from all around the world live in our country
03:16and they all
03:18voted no
03:20against, as they said
03:22yes would be divisive
03:24I don't know where
03:26with no means
03:28I mean always known as
03:30no is bad, yes is good
03:32and to me
03:34no, that really
03:36almost tore my heart out of my chest
03:38but the fact that
03:40we're still suffering
03:42we're still battling with identity
03:44in our own country