Stolen Generations MemorialPrint Page

The monument commemorates all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families. These children are known as the Stolen Generations.  It also commemorates parents who are buried in the Memorial park before their children returned home.  La Perouse elder, Aunty Barbara Simms-Keele campaigned for years to have the monument built.

The monument incorporates elements symbolic to the La Perouse Aboriginal community.  Elements include fish and shells all known to the area, and elements relating to men`s business, including the boomerang, shield, nulla nulla and spear.  Seating in the shape of a fishing boat commemorates the community`s saltwater connections.  A child's footprints are etched in the monument, growing into adult feet, signifying the journey of children leaving and returning home.

The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen children) 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.

Many of the children removed from La Perouse were taken to children's home near Nowra in Southern  New South Wales.  In recognition of those connections, soil from the location of the Bomaderry Children's Home and from the Kinchela Boys` Home and the Cootamundra Girls` School was sprinkled over the monument during the official unveiling

Note : Bringing Them Home is the title of the Australian Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. The report marked a pivotal moment in the controversy that has come to be known as the Stolen Generations. The inquiry was established by the Federal Attorney-General, Michael Lavarch, on 11 May 1995, in response to efforts made by key Indigenous agencies and communities concerned that the general public's ignorance of the history of forcible removal was hindering the recognition of the needs of its victims and their families and the provision of services. The 680 page report was tabled in Federal Parliament on 26 May 1997.

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