Cherbourg Mayor Bruce Simpson told the crowd that he was standing on the shoulders of his ancestorsCherbourg Elder Eric Law AM, who compered the event, with Cherbourg Council CEO Chatur Zala
November 19, 2024
There were strong messages and tears mixed with defiance and optimism at Cherbourg’s go-it-along truth-telling event on Monday morning.
About 200 people gathered outside The Ration Shed to hear 11 residents share “Our History, Our Stories, Our Voices”.
This week had originally been scheduled for public and private hearings in Cherbourg by the State Government’s Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry, that is, until the Path To Treaty process was shut down by the incoming State Government.
Former Minister Leeanne Enoch, who had been responsible for the Path To Treaty, was in attendance in her new role as Shadow Minister for Closing the Gap and Reconciliation.
Also present were Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge, head of the Brisbane Archdiocese, who was one of the signatories to a Joint Faith Leaders Statement (231kb PDF) which expressed “profound concern” over the abolition of the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry; and Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall.
The event began with a smoking ceremony led by Cherbourg councillor Daniel Weazel followed by a performance by the Wakka Wakka Dancers.
The serious business of sharing history then began, with a string of residents taking turns at the microphone (see below; the event was livestreamed for people who could not make it to Cherbourg).
Cherbourg Mayor Bruce Simpson said the Truth-Telling and Inquiry team had done amazing work over the past couple of months.
“A lot of this today is about standing up with our voice and making sure we represent social justice,” Mayor Simpson said,
“Today is about our human rights, about telling the truth our way.”
He praised the brave Elders willing to share their stories and said it was a momentous day for Cherbourg.
“We are going to change the narrative; we are going to change how we want things to be done,” Mayor Simpson said.
He said there was resilience, honesty and vulnerability in the stories.
Mayor Simpson said it was a shock initially when he heard the Truth-Telling and Healing Inquiry would not be happening but the Elders had told him “let’s keep going, our way”.
“Deep listening is needed. Rebuilding of trust is needed. Shared understanding is needed. Better understanding of shared common ground is needed,” Mayor Simpson said.
“Our history, our stories, our voices are not divisive. Truth will unite us, refine our policies, strengthen our practices and inform our future work as all Queenslanders.”
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Witness Statements
Uncle Charlie Watson … Charlie recalled people on their hands and knees scrubbing floors, spraying 1080 poison, carrying sacks of goona (ie. poo), needing permits to come in an out of the gate, chasing hares for a feed; he lamented the loss of the natural springs in the area (the bralbin blue water) … “we were in jail, locked in on our country”Uncle Arnold Murray spoke of his shock when he was taken away from his family in Wondai and put into the Boys Dormitory at only six years of ageAunty Kathleen Hopkins said she was grabbed from her mother and put into the Girls Dormitory; she said she didn’t know her family and after a while even forgot the names of her brothers and sisters … “I want to tell my story … what people have done to us”Aunty Doreen Fisher spoke about the need for change in the community, and to build a proper education for Cherbourg children, to end nepotism, to stop people putting each other down … “I want young people to stand up and tell their truth”Aunty Janelle Carlo said her mum and dad were brought to Cherbourg and “dumped”; her father had to get a permit to ride in the truck into town, “they were controlled … aunties and uncles were sent away to work for the white man, and they were cruel”Aunty Ada Simpson said she was one of the “lucky” ones as she was not sent to the Dormitory; she recalled how her late husband Jack spent the night in jail because he hadn’t volunteered to fight a bushfire… “policies and procedures were the things that got to all of us … things were mandatory”Uncle Frank Malone said the event was about healing, “making us feel better” but sadly up in the cemetery there were many people who “went to their graves with sad eyes because they couldn’t tell their stories”; he spoke about the Dormitory children wearing different school uniforms; how their families would wait to see them after school but they couldn’t because the children needed permission visit their own families in the community; “if the government won’t support (healing), it shows they still think they have the authority to control us”Aunty Judith Brown spoke of the march from near Ipswich which brought some of the first residents to Cherbourg; and how she remembered a young boy, who had been playing marbles but chased a girl, was arrested and sent to Palm Island; she didn’t see him again until he was in his 40sSam Murray and Fred Cobbo … Fred explained how his grandmother was put in a paddy wagon and jailed for a week for speaking language; her children, whom she was trying to teach, were then separated around the State, to Thargomindah, Woorabinda and Thursday Island to stop them learning; Sam said the past injustices still left scars today but we should live with hope that tomorrow could be better, but what are we willing to do today?Aunty Andrea Collins explained how her ancestors’ family had been broken up by a court because blacks and whites were not allowed to marry; the children ended up in Cherbourg; she recalled the old men would sit under a Bunya tree and talk Kuku Yalanji but would stop if they saw the children because they were afraid they might get chucked in jail; Andrea was sent out to work on a property (“slave trade”) but after she was moved to another unexpectedly, she came back on the train to Dalby only to be met by police and then punished when she came back to Cherbourg; “growing up it was always getting permission … we had to get permission to buy a packet of Rinso”
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At The Event
Uncle Eric Law AM with proud Quandamooka woman and former Minister for Treaty, now Shadow Minister for Closing the Gap and Reconciliation, Leeanne Enoch; and South Burnett Mayor Kathy DuffHead of the Catholic Church’s Brisbane Archdiocese, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, with Cherbourg Mayor Bruce Simpson and former councillor Leighton Costello
Well-known local artist Niketa Law with her mum, Aunty Shirley Law … Niketa’s artworks form part of a large exhibition at the Bunya Mountains this weekend
Councillors Jane Erkens and Linda Little (along with Cr Deb Dennien) were also representing the South Burnett Regional Council
Cherbourg councillor Daniel Weazel conducted the smoking ceremony as well as dancing with the Wakka Wakka troupe
Aunty Iris Smith and Kylie Deen, from Brisbane
Michelle Hegarty and Judith Brown, from Brisbane
Mavis, Sylvia and Marissa Cobbo were part of the large crowd at the truth-telling eventElders and invited guests gathered for a group photo at the end of the morning before enjoying a kup murri lunch
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Wakka Wakka Dancers
Cherbourg’s own Wakka Wakka Dancers performed a series of dances for the crowd before the truth-telling session began:
