The Yoorrook Justice Commission is making history as Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry, shedding light on a violent past long buried in the nation’s consciousness.
Bridget Brennan, with the ABC’s Indigenous Affairs Team in collaboration with Four Corners, has been documenting the powerful testimonies presented to the groundbreaking commission in Victoria, which expose the deep and ongoing impact of massacres and human rights abuses which began when Australia was colonised.
Among these stories is the harrowing account of the Warrigal Creek massacre, where, in 1843, dozens of Aboriginal people were shot dead by white settlers in retaliation for the killing of a pastoralist’s nephew.
For Elizabeth Balderstone, the tragic history of Warrigal Creek is not just a historical account - it is a lived reality. She and Gunaikurnai elder Uncle Russell Mullett have come forward to share their story, bringing long-suppressed truths onto the public record.
“If we are to have a future where we live together with understanding,” Uncle Russell said, “we must first be willing to know our history—and accept it.”
The documentary witnesses the gruelling and deeply personal work of the Aboriginal truth commissioners, as they attempt to document the true history of Victoria.
The team also follows along as the Commission investigates the catastrophic legacy of a former Prime Minister.
Truth/Yoorrook is a fearless, definitive documentary which examines how we as a nation reckon with our colonial past and take critical steps towards truth, healing and justice.
CHAPTERS
00:15 – Where ‘my people were murdered’
00:55 – The violent invasion
02:30 – Truth telling commission, Yoorrook
05:20 – The investigation
06:25 - Challenges of today
07:05 – Fighting Gunditjmara
11:40 – Testimonies
12:24 – Understanding history
13:50 – Massacres
18:00 – Connection
21:20 – Segregation and the Stolen Generation
25:00 – Message to Australia
28:08 – Dark family history
32:37 – An apology
39:00 – Wealth return
40:40 – Broken promises
41:10 – Uncovering the truth
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