Submissions Library

Please be aware that some of the content on this page contains potentially offensive or controversial material. If you are affected by the content and would like support, please contact 13 YARN on 13 92 76 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Yoorrook reserves the right not to publish all or part of a submission if it considers it inappropriate to do so. By publishing a submission, Yoorrook expresses no opinion about the content or accuracy of the submission or material referred to in the submission. Submissions are not published where the person making the submission has asked that it be kept confidential.

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Submission – Viki Sinclair (Fowler)

Please be aware that this submission contains sensitive material.

Viki Sinclair is a direct descendant of one of the original settlers of Gippsland, Colin McLaren. In this submission, she tells her personal story of her family’s part in white settlement enacting genocide on the original Aboriginal peoples in Gippsland. She hopes her submission brings about real and lasting change to Gippsland’s documented and accepted history and invites other descendants of settlers to look hard into the limited versions of their ancestry.

Format:
PDF
Size: 161.49 KB
Date: 30 November 2024

Submission – Mary Hassall

This submission is from Mary Hassall, a descendant of James Hassall, after whom the Hassall creek on Gunditj Country is named. It discusses her research and exploration of the Hassalls’ history as settlers of Gunditjmara Land and the Hassalls’ relationships with First Nations Peoples.

Format:
PDF
Size: 82.31 KB
Date: 30 November 2024

Submission – Julianne Negri

This submission from Julianne Negri is an essay by Peter Gardner titled ‘Another Gippsland Massacre – Holland’s Landing?’ which was originally accepted for publication in the Gippsland Heritage Journal in 2008.

It outlines an account of a massacre that took place at Holland’s Landing in Gippsland in 1842.

Format:
PDF
Size: 358.80 KB
Date: 22 November 2024

Submission – Rebecca Jane McCann

This submission reflects on the harms of colonisation including massacres and separation of families, and how these continue to impact on First Peoples today including through intergenerational trauma, and high rates of incarceration, poverty and ill-health. They characterise the education they received about First Peoples’ histories and cultures in the school system as abysmal. They call for deep and profound changes to the school curriculum, state and national treaties, and to see the Uluru Statement from the Heart fulfilled. They state that non-Indigenous Victorians can contribute to truth-telling and treaty by educating themselves about history, standing up to racism, and elevating First Nations voices and calls for change. 

Format:
PDF
Size: 80.40 KB
Date: 20 November 2024

Submission – Nadia Rhook

Dr. Nadia Rhook, a historian and poet, discusses her paternal ancestor, Matthew Rhook (1816-1903), and his history on Gunditjmara Country. She reflects on her family’s involvement in settler colonialism, acknowledging their complicity in the violent processes of dispossession. Dr. Rhook and her family express a shared pain of the history of invasion and a desire for justice and land back, stating, “To say that I am sorry for my ancestors’ role in colonising Country is never enough.”

Format:
PDF
Size: 180.82 KB
Date: 20 November 2024

Submission – Calita Murray

Calita Murrays people are Gunai from the Gunaikurnai people her great grandparents’ side, Wotjobaluk on her great grandfather’s side, and her great, great grandmother was Dja Dja Wurrung.

In this submission, she shares her personal story and family history. She shares this for her family and the younger generation.

Format:
PDF
Size: 23.01 MB
Date: 13 November 2024

Submission – Peter Stevenson

Please be aware that this submission contains sensitive material.

This submission concerns the Myall Creek massacre that took place in 1838. It outlines how the Myall Creek atrocity was “more a mopping up exercise than a massacre,” and discusses the “Great Australian Silence” and the “Black Association.” It also provides other points of discussion, such as the Native Police and “Bluey’s relationship with the Gwydir Group of Massacres”. Additionally, it discusses the reconciliation work of Peter Stevenson and the Myall Creek Memorial Gathering.

Format:
PDF
Size: 2.65 MB
Date: 8 November 2024

Submission – Anonymous 1142

In this submission, the author outlines the history of colonisation in Victoria and it’s impacts on First Peoples, including massacres, the ‘Stolen Generations’, segregation and resistance. They highlight the need for truth-telling, respectful listening, and encouraging storytelling.

Format:
PDF
Size: 61.04 KB
Date: 8 November 2024

Submission – Anonymous 1129

Anonymous 1129 outlines their knowledge that Victoria is an illegal occupation and discusses the ongoing war and genocide against First Peoples. They highlight the massacres, resistance, and the high rates of First Nations children being taken by protective services and through incarceration. They advocate for education on addressing theories of race and colonisation, as well as for reparations, accountability, language revitalisation, and treaty.