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.
Discover Australian history by day
December 16.
Reflections on 16 December - The struggle for land. Difficulties faced by an individual Indigenous man to acquire land.
Discover Australian history by month
Search by month and date (number only) to find a specific date to read:
Are you an educator? Discover more here.
Are you a journalist? Contact us.
Facing our History
So That We Remember seeks to express in both visual art and in words the realities that have shaped Australia from 1788 to the present day.
Art has the capacity to touch primal responses within us. Glenn Loughrey is a Wiradjuri man and a noted artist in this land. His contribution is vital to this project. The background colours he has chosen are akin to the earthly colours of this land. And this land is Country that has never been ceded by its Indigenous owners and inhabitants.
But, as Professor Sarah Maddison, reminds us “both black and white identities in Australia have been constructed through the language of colonialism”. She acknowledges that “Indigenous peoples have a unique relationship” to this land. And she writes “I use the term ‘settler’ and ‘non-Indigenous’ in relation to any individual or group of people who came to australia at any time after the first invasion in 1788...Settlerness is often bound up with whiteness, and settler privilege and white privilege tend to be deeply connected”. [The Colonial Fantasy pp. xi, xiii]
This website contains excerpts from the writings of contemporary Australian historians, as well as Glenn Loughrey’s artwork.
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.