National Reconciliation Week was celebrated at the School from 27 May to 3 June. It is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The National Reconciliation Week 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future.
At PCACS, Reconciliation formed the basis of Chapel services during the week. At the Calista campus, each class teacher told the students the Aboriginal name for their class, and this is reflected on the beautiful wood class name blocks outside each room. The Senior School chapel service reminded the students that the heart of the Gospel story was one of reconciliation and that Christians should seek to acknowledge the truth of our shared history, listen with love and respect, always seek justice, and celebrate the strength of living in a nation that has such glorious diversity.
Reconciliation must live in the hearts, minds and actions of all Australians as we move forward, creating a nation strengthened by respectful relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The dates for National Reconciliation Week commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey, the successful 1967 referendum and the High Court Mabo decision, respectively.
Referendums are very difficult to pass, only 8 out of 44 have enacted changes to our Constitution, and most were relatively minor changes. In 1967, two changes were proposed that gave the Commonwealth power to legislate on matters relating to Indigenous Australians and that all Indigenous people should be counted in our national census. The effect was to ensure that our Constitution had no clauses that actively discriminated against Australia’s First Peoples. The 1967 Constitutional referendum was the most successful referendum ever held in Australia, the proposals received a 91% YES vote. It was a big step forward for our nation and reconciliation.
The 1967 referendum changed Constitutional law. In 1992, the Common or Court-made law was changed by the High Court, meaning every court in the land must follow their judgement. The Mabo case involved Eddie Mabo, an elder of the Meriam people, who lived on an island in the Torres Strait. Eddie’s people had lived on Meriam Island for thousands of years. In the 1980s, the Queensland Government passed a law stating that the Island belonged to the State Government. Until then, the Courts in Australia did not recognise any land ownership rights of Australia’s First Peoples, even if they had lived on their land for thousands of years.
Then along came Eddie Mabo, he took the Queensland Government all the way to highest court of our nation, the High Court, and the Justices found in his favour, not only awarding Eddie and his people ownership but establishing a legal Native Title right for all Indigenous people who had an ongoing connection to their land. The Commonwealth Government supported the decision and established Tribunals that operate today, determining native title claims. Eddie Mabo has gone down in Australian history as one of our greatest fighters for justice.
So, the anniversary dates of these two incredible advancements in reconciliation between Indigenous and non indigenous Australians form the start and end of Reconciliation Week.
These events were explained to the Senior School students to ensure they understood the context of this vital week in the story of our nation. As a School and as part of AngliSchools, PCACS is committed to fostering a conversation on reconciliation that is characterised by grace, dignity and respect. We aspire for our students to be part of building a just and compassionate society.