Brewarrina marks Australia Day with respect and hope
Danielle Boney with Australia Day Ambassador Peter Gibbs, Macka Codrington who accepted the award behalf of her brother Alex and Deputy Mayor Vivian Slack-Smith. Unfortunately, Daniel Kelly was unable to attend the event. Photo supplied
Australia Day was celebrated in typical Brewarrina style, with family friendly events across the day.
A free barbecue kicked off the day at the Brewarrina Memorial Swimming Pool, followed by the Australia Day Award Ceremony and a morning full of games and activities for families to enjoy. For those with a sweet tooth, the highlight was the hard-fought Pavlova competition.
Peter has a powerful story behind his decision to launch the Indigenous Police recruiting program. His sister died in custody in Dubbo in 1997 and it was her death that was the catalyst for him to try to bring about change in how the police and justice system interacted with indigenous people.
This Australia Day, Peter called for more indigenous people to consider a career in the police force and in his address acknowledged the pain of the past as well as the progress being made to unite all Australians through respect and reconciliation.
Brewarrina Shire Council General Manager said the Australia Day events in the town were a great success.
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