National Reconciliation Week 2011 - Let’s talk recognition 27 May - 3 June
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) celebrates the rich culture and history of the First Australians.
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is an annual celebration from 27 May – 3 June and is a time for all Australians to reflect on our shared histories, contributions and achievements.
The week is framed by two key events in Australia’s history which provide strong symbols of the aspirations for reconciliation.
- May 27 marks the anniversary of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in our nation’s history. The 1967 Referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census.
- On 3 June, 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised that Indigenous people had a special relationship to the land—that existed prior to colonalisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for Indigenous land rights called Native Title.
