Community members will unite on the banks of the Murray River on Saturday 28 October to commemorate the 1834 Pinjarra Massacre and pay respects to the ancestors who have fallen.
The Shire of Murray and Bindjareb Nyungar community will host the Back to Pinjarra Day event at the Pinjarra Massacre Site, opposite the Pinjarra Cemetery, from 10am to 1pm.
In recognition of one of the most notorious incidents in Aboriginal history, the event aims to create cultural awareness among community members and assist with the spiritual healing of the Bindjareb nation and the first Australians.
Back to Pinjarra Day will commence with a Welcome to Country followed by a minute silence and a smoking ceremony.
Cultural enlightenment and healing will be enhanced through traditional dance and an open mic session including slam poetry, dreamtime stories, live music and didgeridoo performances.
Aboriginal cuisine and billy tea will also be served and children’s tribal face painting and cultural wristbands will be available at cost.
Murray Shire president Maree Reid said Back to Pinjarra Day was a significant step forward for the district.
“Understanding that Aboriginal people carry their grief through generations, it is important that we, as a community acknowledge our shared history and allow opportunity for the Bindjareb people to heal,” she said.
Back to Pinjarra Day is proudly supported by the WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) through the Shire of Murray’s Completing the Circle project.
The project aims to improve mental health in the Murray community and is based on the Aboriginal Medicine Wheel, Eastern Medicine, which promotes healing within four quadrants namely mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.
The Completing the Circle project is managed by the Shire of Murray in conjunction with the WAPHA Aboriginal Project Panel comprising representatives from a number of key families within the Murray community.