Academics from La Trobe’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences recently took part in the Yoorrook Justice Commission's land, sky and waters hearings. Yoorrook is the first formal truth-telling inquiry into injustices experienced by First Peoples in Victoria.
Professor Julie Andrews, Associate Professor Katherine Ellinghaus and Emeritus Professor Richard Broome appeared as expert witnesses about the massacres and the history of colonisation, including the Batman Treaty and the first settlements in Victoria.
Professor Andrews, Academic Director of Indigenous Research and Director of the Gabra Biik, Wurruwila Wutja Indigenous Research Centre, said the purpose of the hearings was to hear evidence about the injustices against First Peoples.
“It was a historical day and I felt honoured and privileged to represent my community and my ancestors at the hearings.”
“Twenty-five years ago, white Australia would not have been ready for this truth telling. What I observed at the hearings was, for the first time, white law and Aboriginal law coming together for the shared goal of truth telling and justice for my people,” she said.
“We finally have formal documentation that records what happened to our ancestors during colonisation and its impact on Aboriginal land, heritage and culture. We always talk about walking in our ancestors' footsteps but now we are taking steps towards justice for the pain and suffering that they had to endure during colonisation.”
Associate Professor Ellinghaus said the hearings are an important step in understanding the impacts of colonisation on First Peoples in Victoria.
“As a non-Indigenous historian, my role was to provide archival evidence that might be used to support truth telling about past crimes of violence and theft committed by governments and settlers against Aboriginal people and communities.”
“I hope the hearings will support the proper acknowledgement of the transgenerational emotional, financial and cultural impact of this history on Aboriginal people living today. I also hope it will lead to the Victorian government trying to make amends,” she said.
Emeritus Professor Broome, who taught Aboriginal History at La Trobe for more than 40 years, also appeared as an expert witness.
“Some of the topics covered in first week of hearings included the dispossession of land through the false claims of terra nullius and the violence of the state and many colonists. It also focused on the injustices meted out to First Nations peoples by discriminatory policies and laws that sought to control and change Indigenous peoples.”
“I think the Yoorrook hearings will enlighten all Victorians about our state’s past and inform the treaty-making to follow,” he said.
The Yoorrook land, sky and waters hearings will continue until early May 2024. Witnesses include the premier, government ministers, senior bureaucrats, organisations and associations, the descendent of a coloniser and Traditional Owners.
The hearings can be watched live on the Yoorrook Justice Commission website.
