Redfern Park Speech
The Redfern Park Speech was made on 10 December 1992 by the Prime Minister of Australia, Paul Keating at Redfern Park in Redfern, New South Wales. The speech dealt with the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians.
The speech was written by Don Watson, then a speech-writer for Paul Keating.[1]
On 10 December 1992 Keating gave a speech on Aboriginal reconciliation addressing issues faced by indigenous Australians such as their land and children being taken away. This speech became known as The Redfern Address. It was given in Redfern Park to a crowd of predominantly indigenous people. Although it was not given a lot of media attention at the time it is now regarded by many to be one of the greatest Australian speeches. Keating was the first Australian prime minister to publicly acknowledge to Indigenous Australians that European settlers were responsible for the difficulties Australian Aboriginal communities continued to face: ‘We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice’.
Contents |
[edit] Legacy
In 2007, ABC Radio National listeners voted the speech as their third most "unforgettable speech" behind Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech (number one) and Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (number two). [2]
In 2008, parts of the speech were sampled for use in a track by GetUp![3]
 |
Wikisource has original text related to this article: |
[edit] References
- ^ "Unaccustomed as I am...". smh.com.au. 2003-03-15. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/14/1047583695257.html. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
- ^ Unforgettable Speeches (ABC Radio National), ABC Radio National
- ^ "DIG Radio - PM's Apology Sampled On Paul Kelly Song". Abc.net.au. http://www.abc.net.au/dig/stories/s2223832.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Text of Speech at Wikisource
- Sound recording of the speech at the National Archives of Australia
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Reports 1994-2009 and Native Title Reports 1994-2009 for more information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs
- Watch a recording of the Redfern Address on australianscreen online
- The Redfern Address was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2010
 |
This Australian government-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
