Digital Stories – National Apology Day

In 2013 the National Apology Day fifth anniversary occurred.  To celebrate this event the State Library of Queensland has placed five digital stories online for clients to view. These stories come from the 7995 Apology Project digital stories and oral history collection, which can be located on One Search.

The Apology Project Digital Stories reflect several peoples experiences during this momentous event.

1. Jeremy Robertson talks about his experiences at the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA), contending with racial stereotypes and what Kevin Rudd’s apology meant to him.
2. Tiga Bayles reflects on attending the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples at Parliament House, Canberra on 13 February 2008. He also talks about the experiences of members of the Stolen Generation and what the apology means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
3. Natalie Alberts talks about how Government policies affected her family, growing up at Cherbourg, Woorabinda and northern Queensland. She recalls the emotion of organising an event at the Musgrave Park Cultural Centre on the day of the Apology.
4. Sam Wagan Watson Jr. recalls working as a security supervisor on an industrial site the night before the Apology and how he came to process the meaning of the Prime Minister’s speech.
5. Nadine McDonald-Dowd remembers traveling to Canberra with her mother at attend the Apology. She talks about her mother’s experiences and how the Apology helped her come to terms with her past.
6. Anna Bligh,  former Premier of Queensland (2008), shares her opinions on how past legislation has impacted upon Aboriginal people. She talks particularly about the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, and how a bipartisan apology is important for improving conditions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
7. Quentin Bryce, who was in 2008 referred to as Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, as Governor of Queensland, talks about her emotional response to the Prime Minister’s apology, her role in Indigenous issues and how she first learnt about the Stolen Generation in 1978.