What DO WE DO WITH THIS STORY

The time has come for all Australians to unite in recognising the truth of European arrival on this land.

It is imperative that we listen to the First Peoples and stand alongside them, supported by the collective goodwill of our nation.

Common sense tells us that no present-day Australian can be held responsible for the actions of our forebears 253 years ago, or even 100 years ago. What we can do now, however, is make a collective commitment as a nation to face up to the stains in our past.

Table of Contents

This magnificent opportunity has already begun!

Truth Telling – The Recognition Way was launched in Australia in an inaugural gathering held on Saturday 29 October 2022, when just under 100 people from all over Australia gathered near the Lieutenant James Cook 1770 landing site of first encounter at Kamay Botany Bay.

The Next Gathering…

Saturday 2 March 2024 Kamay, Botany Bay

The exact site at Kamay Botany Bay will be confirmed after investigations about available space are finalised, otherwise, save the date!

You are invited!

The Program will include bringing early factual records into the open and placing them under public scrutiny.

This will place all of us, the Australian people, in a position where we can assess those records for ourselves, and come to our own mind about them. The Program will include the assembled gathering given the opportunity to stand together and proclaim A Declaration of Recognition of our true history since colonisation (view text below put in declaration).

The day’s program will be recorded and filmed.

How to register

Select the button here to register for this event, this will take you to our booking page at Humanitix.

This Will be a Day of Truth Telling – The Recognition Way

Information you need about the Program

Please read the following very carefully, or listen to the video:

Before registering to attend, it is essential that you clearly understand the following content will be included in the day’s program

We will publicly recognise several acts of wrongdoing that took place in the earliest stages of our colonising history, beginning with the armed attack launched by Lieutenant James Cook and the Endeavour crew against First Nations People at Kamay Botany Bay on 29^th April 1770.

1. Introduction	Opening of this Historic Assembly of the Nation
2. Welcome to Country	By the local First Nations people
3. An overview of our colonising history as described	As described in the British records, the impact of colonisation on the wronged parties – First Nations people must be heard here
4. Wrongdoing 1 – 29 April 1770	Four illegal offences were unleashed on First Nations at Kamay Botany Bay Input by wronged parties – First Nations people must be heard here
5. Wrongdoing 2 – Taking possession of many lands	Without consent of the inhabitants, taking possession of many lands – without consent – as described in Endeavour Journal Input by wronged parties – First Nations people must be heard here
6. Wrongdoing 3 – Sending First Fleet of 11 ships	Without consent of the inhabitants, the First Fleet of 11 ships, 1400 people arrives – as recorded by the British Input by wronged parties – First Nations people must be heard here
7. Response	Response from wider Australian community “We have heard you”
8. Proclamation	Proclamation of A Declaration of Recognition of our True History (This Declaration is the culmination/high point of An Act of Recognition)
9. Conclusion	Thank you for making this Historic Assembly happen
10. Lunch	BYO Picnic Lunch and enjoy a leisurely time with friends in the Park grounds after the Program is concluded. Bottled water supplied.

The following is a DRAFT Outline of the Day’s Program

The following are specific examples of the Program Content

Wrongdoing 1: On 29 April 1770 four (4) illegal offences were committed against

First Nations at Kamay Botany Bay. These crimes began with an armed attack on

Gweagal people – on Country (see Endeavour Journal)

A Truth Telling Statement proclaimed by all in unison – 2 Narrators leading:

“We make this Truth Telling statement based on factual records:

We publicly reject, and strongly condemn

This armed attack on Gweagal people – on Country.

These colonising actions are unacceptable to us.

They were not done in our name.

We recognise the truth – and we hereby declare

These criminal offences against First Nations people were WRONG.”

A Declaration of Recognition
We gather at the place where our shared history began – Kamay Botany Bay.
Though we speak of untold loss and grief,
Yet also we are filled with gratitude – for what we have found in each other.
We see the many fair minded people who live on all these lands.
We see First Nations people who have generously shown love and forgiveness.
We see later Australians who, seeing truth, labour to make wrong things right.
And yet, we know that the heart of our nation is disturbed.
At the heart of our nation there lies a profound injustice – and a deep divide.
It is a divide between descendants of those who were here and those who came.
First Nations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, became oppressed.
On our first day of shared history, an armed attack was launched against them.
Tall ships came from the sea – and other people overran Country.
Belonging to Country, First Peoples were dispossessed of their homelands.
Elders looked and saw – old people displaced, no Place of belonging.
They looked and saw – language forbidden, culture, identity – all lost.
Young lives broken by inter-generational trauma – lives over before they began.
The time has come to recognise the truth about European arrival in this land.
The voice of First Peoples must be heard,
And the voice of all people of goodwill heard with them.
With this Declaration of Recognition we enter the Truth Telling space together.
We declare that at this place we recognise the truth – the stains on our past.
We publicly reject, and strongly condemn these colonising actions.
They are not acceptable to us – they were not done in our name.
We celebrate a truth that binds us together, the truth of our common humanity.
We commit to walking together – in our resolve to making wrong things right.
“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Additional Yarn Up Days

Friday 1st and Sunday 3rd March 2024 – 10.00am to 2.00pm
Lots of opportunity to sit down together and talk about issues important to you
Cost is covered with your Saturday Ticket.
BYO food to these ‘Yarn Up’ days

Logistics for the Event

Location:

Commemoration Flat (near Kurnell Visitor Centre) Kamay Botany Bay National Park, Cape Solander Drive, Kurnell, NSW.

Directions:

Take Captain Cook Drive to KURNELL on the South side of Kamay Botany Bay. When you reach the Kamay Botany Bay National Park our friendly Help Team will be there to assist you with parking options, and detailed directions to the Act of Recognition site.

Parking:

Parking may be quite difficult. Mostly street parking. Very limited parking in the National Park grounds due to on site building and construction activity. We ask you to please arrange car pooling wherever possible.

Please continue to visit this website for ongoing updates on parking information.

Park Entry Fees:

into the National Park $8.00 per car.

Accommodation:

Those travelling to Sydney are asked to arrange own accommodation. Basic information on motels, hotels and camping grounds etc. in the Sutherland Shire available on request.

Limitations:

Planning to attend? Then Register early. We regret we only have permission for a limit of 1000 persons to attend.

Registrations Close:

21 February 2024 Book Today!