Cherbourg Walk of solidarity to make history

History will be made this month when Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians join an ambitious project called The Cherbourg Walk - a showpiece of the 2009 Brisbane Festival.

The 22-day, 275-kilometre trek will commemorate the journey of Aboriginal people away from their homes to live at the Cherbourg Mission in south-east Queensland. Cherbourg, formerly known as Barambah, was originally founded in 1901 as an Aboriginal reserve and became home to hundreds of relocated people from more than a dozen different Aboriginal communities.

The Cherbourg Walk proudly celebrates the strength, unity, and survival of the Murri mob and is anticipated to heal old wounds and renew neglected relationships.

The walkers, some of them descendants of the original Cherbourg Mission settlers, will be supported during their journey by experienced personnel from Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, which is situated at Southern Cross University's Lismore campus.

The facilitators are all Gnibi staff, or graduates of, or final year students in, Gnibi's Master of Indigenous Studies degree, who have expertise in trauma and healing and will support and guide those needing to share their stories and feelings, empowering them to deal with issues as they arise.

On every step of the Walk and at the nightly campfires, participants will be encouraged to learn about Queensland's Indigenous history from key Aboriginal figures, Elders and traditional owners and everyday people with stories and opinions to share.

"The knowledge gained on this great symbolic journey is a gift for the whole community to share," said Lyndon Terracini, artistic director and chief executive of the Brisbane Festival.

The Walk starts at Cherbourg this Saturday, September 12, the first day of the Festival, and reaches Boundary Street in Brisbane's West End, on Saturday, October 3.

This historic street's name is a reminder of the exclusion of Aborigines from Brisbane during the 19th Century as it formed a literal boundary, restricting their access to the CBD after dusk.

Aboriginal people crossing this line after dusk could be legally shot and indeed one black man, who was serving in the US Navy in the Second World War, was shot after being mistaken for an Aboriginal person, prompting a US government backlash and the eventual abolishment of the law.

The final day of the Walk will see the participants gathering at Musgrave Park and walking up Boundary Street to music by renowned Aboriginal performers Kev Carmody, Archie Roach, and others.

Brisbane Festival presents The Cherbourg Walk which is supported by the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, the Australian Government through the Australia Council, Southern Cross University through Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, Sidney Myer Fund, Mandalay Technologies, 612 ABC Brisbane, and QFleet. The Cherbourg Walk is a drug and alcohol free event.

Photo: Professor Judy Atkinson, one of the Gnibi staff who will be providing support for participants in the Cherbourg Walk, starting this Saturday, September 12.