On 29 May 2017, Australia Post held a Reconciliation Week event. It was an important opportunity to reflect on and recommit to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It included the official announcement of the 2017 Australia Post Legends Award recipients and the launch of the associated Australia Post Legends stamp issue. The event was one of many being held across the country by Australia Post, to celebrate and confirm a commitment to respect for and reconciliation with the First Australians.
The Australia Post Australian Legends Award recognises individuals who make a real and positive contribution to Australia’s identity and national character. The 2017 Legends, Professor Tom Calma, Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue and Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, are remarkable and highly respected Indigenous leaders. As a group, they have worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across a range of areas, including land rights, health, education and economic inclusion.
The announcement of this year’s Australia Post Legends Award winners not only coincides with Reconciliation Week, held between 27 May and 3 June each year, but also with two important historic occasions: 50 years since the historic 1967 referendum and 25 years since the landmark Mabo High Court decision, which ended the legal doctrine of terra nullius (which proclaimed that prior to European settlement, the land of Australia belonged to no one).
The event included powerful audio-visual presentations, including historical imagery depicting the many hard-fought battles leading up to the 1967 referendum and reflections by the Legends on their role in advancing the causes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“I only want to be remembered for [having] given of my best to advance the life of my people,” Lowitja O’Donoghue stated in one video. In a separate statement on being named a Legend, Galarrwuy Yunupingu said, “Advocacy has never been more important for our Indigenous communities, and I’m grateful that our work to address inequality is being recognised and celebrated across the country”.
Dance performances opened and closed the event, including “Bloodline”, performed by Cassie, a Year 7 student and dancer, and choreographed by Adam Francis, who, as well as being well-recognised for his contribution to dance, is also a postal services officer with Australia Post. Adam also choreographed and danced in the final number, “Message Stick”. The two women performing in the dances were non-Indigenous, to amplify the theme of reconciliation and to symbolise a strong and united future for non-Indigenous and Indigenous people.
The Acknowledgement of Country was made by an intern with Australia Post’s diversity and inclusion team, Wiradjuri woman Indiah Money, who also recited a piece of her own poetry.
There were speeches, including from Australia Post Managing Director and Group CEO Ahmed Fahour, who spoke about Australia Post’s Reconciliation Action Plan and its focus on relationships, opportunities and respect, and from Jason Mohammed of Reconciliation Australia, who spoke about the importance of the current generation rising “… to achieve great things” in the area of reconciliation.
In accepting his award at the event, a 24 carat gold version of his Legends stamp, Professor Calma described the moment as “absolutely amazing” and “such a privilege”. “I really appreciate being invited to be part of the series,” he said, and he also expressed pride at being named alongside the two other Legends, Lowitja O’Donoghue and Galarrwuy Yunupingu. Full biographies on the three Australia Post Legends for 2017.
In a Q&A-style interview by Ahmed Fahour on stage, Tom Calma described what has driven his life-long advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. He stated that a large part of his work has been about being around “good people” who have a “shared vision”, who understand where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have come from and who know that things shouldn’t be as they are. He also acknowledged Australia Post, stating that the organisation has been “committed” to doing its part in the area of reconciliation. In relation to the way forward, Professor Calma emphasised the importance of empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be involved in decisions that affect them: “None of us like to be told what to do … work with us, but let us be foremost in the development process,” he said.
The theme of Reconciliation Week 2017 is “Let’s take the next steps”, a theme highlighted poignantly by Tom Calma himself:
“Advocates like myself never seek the spotlight for the work we do, and while I am acknowledged in the stamp, many who have walked with me share this honour. I am proud, humbled and appreciate that my lifetime work and the achievements of Indigenous advocates and our colleagues are celebrated in such a meaningful way. I hope that occasions like this highlight what is achievable in a lifetime and will encourage greater advocacy for equality. Together we can affect change.”
This article was produced at the time of publication and will not be updated.
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