So That We Remember charts a journey in history.
Bringing awareness of Australia’s violent past, documented over a 365-day historical calendar.
Dare to remember…
Charting this colonial history in daily entries.
A verbal and visual guide on a journey that began 233 years ago… Each calendar entry is designed to enable Australians to learn more about the human cost in Indigenous lives that was integral to the colonial occupation of their land.
Since our launch in 2021, we are releasing a month at a time. We invite you to explore and discover what happened “On This Day” in Australian history.
WARNING
This website contains graphic descriptions of historical events from primary sources that may be disturbing to some readers.
Please be aware: Some primary historical sources cited on this website contain words and terms written by non-Indigenous people in the past that today would be regarded as offensive and/or abusive. We have endeavoured to append the adverb ’sic’ to note when these derogatory terms occur.
November 30.
Reflections on 30 November - Excerpts from the address given by Pope John Paul II to Indigenous people at Alice Springs on 29 November, 1986.
November 29.
Reflections on 29 November - Ratio of killings: “...mass killings of Aborigines were a key feature..”.
November 28.
Reflections on 28 November - Contrasts in peace and slaughter: Two pictures of differing relations.
November 27.
Reflections on 27 November - Questions raised. Extract continued from entry for 26 November: An Explorer Explains.
November 25.
Reflections on 25 November - ‘...justice, forbearance...land’. “Unease about settlers' abuses against Aboriginal people in the region.”
November 24.
Reflections on 24 November - Military police state and POWs: “Prisoners of war” or “subjects of the British crown”?
November 23.
Reflections on 23 November - Chaining or killing: ‘...he has killed and will kill blacks.’
November 22.
Reflections on 22 November - ‘...a brutal history.’ “British colonisation was seen as both an invasion and an awesome social experiment...”
November 21.
Reflections on 21 November - Dundalli, Indigenous warrior: Indigenous leader Dundalli and the legal silencing of Aboriginal claims and experience.
November 20.
Reflections on 20 November - Settlers’ might over right: “It would be 'extremely impolitic' to try settlers for killing Aborigines.”
November 19.
Reflections on 18 November - More massacres: Commentary on massacres in Queensland and Victoria.
November 18.
Reflections on 18 November - Conflict and white supremacy. Forcible removal of Indigenous people.
November 17.
Reflections on 17 November - “Domestic service was a cruel time for my mother, like so many women of her generation.”
November 16.
Reflections on 16 November - Concentration camp. It was how we felt about being Aboriginal that mattered.
November 15.
Reflections on 15 November - Subversion and separation of children from parents.
In the spirit of reconciliation, So That We Remember acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community.
We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
What people are saying…
“The act of going through each day and seeing another example from all over the country is really moving and shocking.
…The site looks great and Glenn Loughrey’s artwork is powerful for each month.”
— Mark Dunn, author of The Convict Valley:The Bloody Struggle on Australia’s Early Frontier
“To forget our ancient custodians recent past, to relegate their story to oblivion, is to deny a truth which must be embraced if Australia is to find its own true destiny. I am grateful that some of the words I wrote have been deemed a fit contribution to this journey through time, this calendar of a past that must forever be remembered.”
— John Harris, author of One Blood & We Wish We’d Done More
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Joining the So That We Remember mailing list will ensure you never miss a monthly update to the website from our creator, Ray Barraclough, over a 365-day calendar.