Monument in Earlwood Rededicated in Spirit of Truth-telling
In 1988, during Bicentennial commemorations, Canterbury Council dedicated a colonial memorial at Earlwood Oval with a brass plaque that bears the following inscription:
This monument is dedicated to the memory of the original landowners; John Parkes of Halesowen, who was the first European settler; and all those who followed them [sic].
Two years ago, local children Ella and Lionel Kennedy challenged this inscription. They had learned that the original landowners were Bedigal people of the Dharug Nation. Accordingly, The Kennedy family wrote to the council, asking it to correct the statement on the memorial plaque.
In consultation with a reference group of local First Nations people, Canterbury-Bankstown Council decided to re-dedicate the memorial. In a brief ceremony at Earlwood Oval on 20 March 2024, Aunty Lyn Martin welcomed those present to Dharug country and thanked Lionel and Ella for listening to what they had been taught at school. Aunty Jennifer Newman then thanked the family for writing to the Council and reminded everyone how the Uluru Statement from the heart calls for truth-telling about our history. “And that’s what we’re doing today,” she said.
The Mayor, Clr. Bilal El-Hayek, thanked Lionel and Ella and told them he was proud of them. He then unveiled an additional plaque on the memorial, which bears the following inscription:
Dharug Nation 2024
Truth telling about our Histories
This monument is rededicated to honour Bedigal, enduring custodians of Country, and to the memory of John Parkes of Halesowen, who took up a colonial land grant here in 1816.
We are “those who followed them”: First nations people, descendants of the colony, and people more recently arrived from around the world.
We walk together, tell our histories, looking to the future.
Chris Jordens
Photo left to right: Aunty Lyn Martin, Councillor Bilal El-Hayek, Lionel Kennedy, Ella Kennedy, and Aunty Jennifer Newman.
