Reflect and connect at dawn ceremony

THIS Sunday 26 January, people will line the shores of Lake Wendouree at the sixth Survival Day Dawn Ceremony.

The event, organised by City of Ballarat’s Koorie Engagement Action Group (KEAG) Advisory Committee in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, provides an opportunity for reflection.

The day is one of mourning and remembrance for First Nations Peoples who fought in the Frontier Wars as well as a chance to mark the survival of traditions and cultures.

“In that space it’s a time of mourning as it has been for more than 100 years of Australian history, but also a day of reflection and an opportunity for people to come together to share their story,” KEAG member Deb Lowah Clark said.

“All the hardships that happened generations ago still echo in the lives of people today.”

Ms Lowah Clark said the event is not about placing blame; it is about acknowledging history, and she encouraged people to sit in any uncomfortableness.

“We just want to be able to look back and say that in the last six years, we’ve done something that’s brought our community together,” she said.

“We want our history to change every day we step into the next one… When we know better, we do better.”

The event is inclusive and community members from all backgrounds are invited to reflect and join in solidarity.

“It’s not to denigrate or put down any other Australian, it’s to allow the story of this amazing landscape to be told,” said Ms Lowah Clark.

“I would encourage people to never have a sense of guilt and a sense or defensiveness, because the only reason people think it’s divisive is because they don’t want to know that bad things happened.

“Really it’s just the truth.”

The ceremony will commence at 5.30am at View Point.