What is National Reconciliation Week?
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is held on the 27th of May to 3rd June each year and is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements. As well as explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
The dates chosen for NRW commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively.
1967 referendum - 27 May 1967
On this day, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census.
High Court Mabo decision - 3 June 1992
On this day, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title.
For more information on National Reconciliation Week, check out this video below
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