National Sorry Day

Sorry Day is a day for all those who have been impacted by the government policies removal that have resulted in the Stolen Generation.

The 26th of May every year, ceremonies, marches, speeches and presentations are held around the country to commemorate Sorry Day.

The first Sorry Day was held in 1998 one year after the report 'Bringing them Home' was first tabled in the parliament.

The report “Bringing them Home”, from a Human Rights inquiry, documented the forced removal of many Aboriginal and children from their families, between 1910 and the 1970s. The children who were removed have come to be known as the Stolen Generations. In 1998, Prime Minister Paul Keating made a speech in Redfern and admitted for the first time that “we took the children from their mothers”. In this speech he never said sorry to the Aboriginals.

Because of the lack of a Government apology to the people for the Stolen Generations, more than 250.000 people participated the 28^th of May 2000, in the Bridge Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge. This walk, was organized by the Reconciliation Australia, and was in support of real Australians.  

Five years after the walk in Sydney, the National Sorry Day Committee renamed Sorry Day as a National Day of Healing for all Australians and in 2008 the official apology was given.