Gerrard Shaw

LM: Hi there. My name is Luisa Mitchell and I’m a Nyungar woman. 

Today we present to you Backyard Truthtelling: stories from Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians that were shared in local resident’s backyards all around Walyalup.  

Walyalup is the Nyungar name for Fremantle, located on the southern end of what is now called Western Australia. Just like the rest of Australia, Walyalup is an ancient country and belongs to one of the world’s oldest surviving cultures, the Whadjuk Nyungar people.  

In this collection, you’re about to hear live recordings from people who spoke about difficult truths, hidden histories and reimagined futures, all reflections of their lived experiences of colonisation in Walyalup and Australia.  

In partnership with the City of Fremantle and produced by Centre for Stories, these stories were captured on Whadjuk Nyungar boodjar. We pay our respect to Whadjuk Elders, and all Aboriginal people from the beginning, who are the knowledge-keepers and custodians of this place. 

 And, before we get started, a brief disclaimer. This story may contain references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and practices. It may also include language that some individuals may find distressing or triggering. We acknowledge the ongoing impact of colonisation and the importance of truth telling and respecting Indigenous perspectives and experiences. We also know that these stories may be most triggering for mob, for Aboriginal and Torres strait islander people. So, if you’re struggling while listening to this story, please don’t hesitate to connect with 13 YARN on 13 92 76 and talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander crisis supporter. 

 In this episode, you will hear Uncle Gerrard Shaw’s story. Uncle Gerrard is a Whadjuk Elder with connections to Yued and Ballardong country. This is Gerrard. 

GS: Well, I’ve certainly got a happy heart, djirapin koort, in seeing so many of you here tonight who have come along lovingly to sit, listen and learn. And it is with great joy that on behalf of my elder brothers and sisters, I welcome you to walk on Whadjuk Noongar land and to share in the richest riches of the oldest culture on earth. 

Ngalak djirapin wanjoo noonook. Wanju is the Noongar word for welcome. So wanju, wanju a hundred times to each and every one of you.  

Ngala Noongar boodja, nitja ngala moort boodja. Koora koora nitja ngala kartiya boodjar. Koora waangkaniny ngaala djirapin moort, ngalak boodjar.  

We are pleased to welcome you to our Noongar country. This is our ancestral land from the dreamtime. This is our homeland of history. Spanning 50 to 60,000 years. And as one with you, we are proud, a proud people, proud of our land, and proud of the work we do today in order to try and create reconciliation. And by reconciliation, I mean to have a united Australia. 

That’s what reconciliation is all about. It’s got nothing to do with, as one person said on Facebook at the time of the referendum, they’re going to lose their backyards. We are not looking to get backyards. We are looking for a unified country that we are one in heart and mind, and that’s what we are trying to do through our storytelling here tonight. 

Now my story begins at the time of the referendum. I happened to be attending a 21st birthday party, and it was on my way home and I got off the train and had to get a bus. So I went into the Victoria Quay bus station, and I stood there in a building that was totally empty. There wasn’t a soul around, and it was my first opportunity to find out the results of this referendum. 

I was hoping to be able to see the news on television, but because the children were all playing their games, I couldn’t get to the TV and that was fair enough too. So as I stood there in the Victoria Quay bus station, I suddenly felt all alone when I heard that the referendum had failed. The Voice was one of the pillars of the statement of the heart, which came to us from those Australian Aborigines who gathered at Uluru and outstretched their hands to take the hands of the community and to walk together as one. 

But when I heard that the referendum had failed, I was shattered, and suddenly I felt very alone. I was sure that the Australian people would pick this up and run with it. So it was a huge disappointment and as I found out later, it was for so many people, so many within my own community and the broader community. 

Many, many people were just as shattered. And apparently it was due to the fact, basically, that the referendum wasn’t bipartisan and there were people out. It is clear to me, from seeing those things on Facebook with saying things that were misinformed and just causing trouble, really. So the end of last year, we had a, elders meeting to prepare for 2024. 

And do you know what we agreed to do then? As suggested by Peter Stone. We decided to ask ourselves, what can we do now? And we thought we would take hold of one of the other pillars of that statement from the heart. And that is truth telling voice, treaty and truth. The three pillars of the statement, of the heart and that invitation that came was picked up by our present Prime Minister, who ran with it and seemed to be quite confident about it. But he and Linda Burney were both equally shattered. 

I thought I would begin to tell my story then, in terms of past injustices that have not yet been resolved. For example, the first one I select is Terra Nullius. It’s when Governor Philip, over on the eastern coast, he raised that flag in the name of the king and said, there are no other human beings here. Totally ignored. 

I wonder what message that sending me. Perhaps I’m talking too long. Yeah. So this is my way of trying to apply what we set out to do there at that meeting. And I mentioned Peter because he opened my mind and opened all our minds to the reality that truth telling can take many forms. 

It can be poetry. It can be writing. It can be speaking. It can be through music and art. All we want to do is try and get that message over to the rest of the community, so we can walk together as one and walk towards a united Australia. Now, it was interesting to see that in time, the classification of terra nullius was updated. 

It was, I think we were put into the Games Act that was, the Flora and Fauna Act. And this, only served to empower, for control. You see the whole point of Captain Fremantle raising that flag like Governor Philip and saying that this whole West coast belongs to the King, was really all about taking control over the people that were already here. 

I suppose the peak of control is seen in Mr. A. O. Neville. That’s around the time of the Aborigines Act 1905, who was to take control of property and goods, that the few possessions they might have of, Noongar people and other nations within the state. He had the, control over any wages they earned. They had to give it to him. 

And if they wanted to buy something, they had to write a letter and ask his permission. And then he would arrange for a welfare officer to go and buy the hankie or dress or whatever it is that person wanted. Now, the fact is, any money earned at that time, he kept. And that’s why we’ve got a court case going currently trying to get back money that people earned and had it taken from them in the class action, stolen wages. 

And I suppose the control, the power becomes increased with Mr. Neville becoming the custodian of all Aboriginal children, and he decided to remove them from their families. In other words, he broke up families. I think in trying to deal with some of these past injustices. I need to try and be positive, too. And I do that by remembering Gough Whitlam. 

He tried to give back land rights with Vincent Lingiari. And then there was Paul Keating. I’ve written this statement that these are the exact words, and I think they are very powerful and for these people to stand up and say these things, they are very brave.  

Paul Keating said in 1992: “The problem starts with us…” and that’s not you. That’s the government. “The problem starts with us. We did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the disease and the alcohol. We committed the murders, and we took the children from their mothers.” 

Kevin Rudd in 2008 was brave enough to say sorry to the whole of Australia, to all Aborigines who had been affected by past policies, and just about every Aboriginal person has been affected by past policies. He said we are sorry. And I remember that day so well. There was like a ripple went right through the country. You could feel the joy coming from people who had just heard those beautiful words. We are sorry. 

And as a result of that, from 2020, we have National Sorry Day. So, I hope that sort of opens up the whole discussion of truth telling. And I now hand over to other speakers so they could have their say. Thank you very much for listening.