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Stolen Generations MemorialPrint Page Print this page

Plaque Inscription : 16-May-2015
Plaque Inscription : 16-May-2015

Photographs supplied by Peter F Williams

The sandstone sculpture by Aboriginal artist Joe Hirst commemorates "The Stolen Generations." The sculpture features images of boomerangs and a couple of small reflective pools.

The Stolen Generations is a term used to describe the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals occurred in the period between approximately 1869 and 1969, although in some places children were still being taken in the 1970s.

Location

Address:Reilly Lane, Sydenham Green, Sydenham, 2044
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.915794
Long: 151.168109
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Sculpture
Monument Theme:Culture
Sub-Theme:Indigenous
Artist:Joe Hirst

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:1999
Front Inscription

We may go home, but we cannot relive our childhoods.
We may reunite with our mothers, fathers, sisters,  
brothers, aunties, uncles, communities, but we cannot  
re-live the 20, 30, 40 years that we spent without their 
love and care, and they cannot undo the grief and 
mourning they felt when we separated from them.
We can go home to ourselves as Aboriginals, but this 
does not erase the attacks inflicted on our hearts, 
minds, and bodies by caretakers who thought 
their mission was to eliminate us as Aboriginals.
                                                - Link Up (NSW) 

                                                     

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au