Saying 'Sorry' at Trinity
Wednesday 13 February 2008
‘What saying “Sorry” ultimately achieves will be determined by the actions of each of you after you walk out the door today’, the Warden, Associate Professor Andrew McGowan, told members of the College and the wider University community during a special reflection in the College Chapel at midday today.
Members of the Trinity community light candles in remembrance of the stolen generations …
Held to acknowledge the members of the stolen generations and to join with the Prime Minister of Australia in saying ‘Sorry’ to them and their families, this informal service included a number of elements interspersed with periods of silence for personal prayer and reflection.
Trinity’s Indigenous Programs Officer, Dr Jon Ritchie, read a poem entitled No apology, written several years ago by Trinity alumnus and long time advocate of reconciliation, Judge Peter Gebhardt.
Those present were invited to light a candle in remembrance of those who suffered family separation under the policies of previous governments. People also had the opportunity to write their own personal messages. These will be bound into a ‘Sorry Book’ and archived for display as a symbol of Trinity’s ongoing commitment to Indigenous welfare and equality.
… while others wait to write personal messages for inclusion in Trinity’s ‘Sorry Book’.
In his opening remarks, College Chaplain the Revd Dr Timothy Gaden, noted that the event was also ‘seeking to begin the process of moving forward as a united nation, showing respect and love for all citizens’. He then read again the motion moved by the Prime Minister in Federal Parliament earlier in the day.
Many members of staff had gathered in the Senior Common Room at 9 am to watch this historic occasion on television, while in another part of the College, those attending the annual Indigenous Post Graduate Summer School, currently underway at Trinity, suspended their program to witness the words they have longed for many years to hear.
Some of the staff members who watched the telecast of the apology.
At the conclusion of his reflective address, the Warden drew attention to the painting depicting the stolen generation that hangs on the north wall of the Chapel. Painted by a Gamilaroi man, Michael Naden, it has been lent to the College by Judge Gebhardt. It previously hung for some years in the office of the Chief Judge of the County Court.
Further contributions to Trinity’s ‘Sorry Book’ can be made using the paper and writing materials located in the prayer alcove at the rear of the Chapel.
The poem 'No apology' is published in Peter Gebhardt's anthology, Their stories our history (Helicon Press, 2003) available from the Trinity Shop. All proceeds from the sale of this book, as well as from his subsequent volume, Another Place (The Helicon Press, 2006), go to support Indigenous students at Trinity.