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A/Head of Aboriginal Affairs NSW Lil Gordon Reflects on Australia Day

23-January-2020

As 26th of January approaches I reflect firstly on the bushfires and the droughts, which have impacted the health and well-being of many Australians. I am reminded of the absolute resilience and unwavering determination in the face of adversity and how people from all walks come together to support each other.

The 26th of January produces a range of complex emotions and strong feelings for all Australians. For Aboriginal Australians that day, forever changed our way of life giving us some of the hardest challenges we’ve ever had to face in our long history. Those emotions and feelings run deep, as deep as 60,000 plus years of our ancestry and custodianship of this land. We are First Nations.

The current messaging on mainstream media is focusing on the collective story and our individual place in that story. The theme of Australia Day is ‘We’re all part of the story’.

The Story of Australia
This is the Story of Australia – the story of an extraordinary nation.
The Story begins 60,000 years ago. New chapters are written every day.
On Australia Day, we reflect on our history, its highs and its lows.
We respect the stories of others.
And we celebrate our nation, its achievements and most of all, its people.
We’re all part of the story.

The story of Australia
It’s the story of me
It’s the story of you
It’s the story of we
In parts it is painful
In parts it is wrong

In others it is beautiful
Inspiring great awe
It cares for many people
From far and wide
And those that have been here
Since the beginning of time

Lil Gordon
A/g Head of Aboriginal Affairs NSW



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