Sea of Hands for National Reconciliation Week

Published on 25 May 2021

Horsham Rural City Council is encouraging Wimmera people to be involved in a symbolic sea of hands event that is the feature of National Reconciliation Week (NRW) in the municipality.

NRW (27 May to 3 June) starts on Thursday 27 May at 10am with a morning tea at May Park, where the ‘Sea of Hands’ activity will run from 10.30am until 4pm.

On the day people can collect large cut-out hands in the colours of black, yellow and red and plant them in the ground to form a display.

The activity supports the broader NRW theme for 2021 which is More Than a Word. Reconciliation takes Action.

Throughout the week, street banners will be displayed in central Horsham and Federation University will host an exhibition of NRW posters.

At Horsham Regional Art Gallery, there will be a mosaic of smaller NRW hands that have been decorated by children.

Mayor Robyn Gulline said Reconciliation Week was an opportunity to gather and celebrate Horsham’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and their significant contributions to life today.

“We are encouraging Australians to learn about our Aboriginal culture and share that knowledge,” Cr Gulline said.

“Horsham has a strong Indigenous culture and the week itself provides an opportunity to celebrate and strengthen the reconciliation process.

“We all have a role to play when it comes to reconciliation, and in playing our part we collectively build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures,” she said.

Each year National Reconciliation Week celebrates and builds on the respectful relationships shared by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians.

The dates that bookend the week are two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - the 1967 referendum and the historic Mabo decision.

Activities for the week have been supported by Horsham Rural City Council, Women’s Health Grampians, Wimmera PCP, Federation University, Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Skillinvest and Yarriambiack Shire Council.