FOUR flags were flown over St Stephen’s Cathedral as part of a flag-raising ceremony for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to begin National Reconciliation Week today, May 27.
St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace student Mali Dorante raised the Torres Strait Islander flag, Evangelisation Brisbane’s Bernice Fischer raised the Aboriginal flag, cathedral parishioner Caroline Grogan raised the Queensland flag and Archdiocesan Services executive director Andrew Musial raised the Australian flag.
St Stephen’s Cathedral parish had been the driving force behind the flag raising ceremony.
Cathedral Dean Fr Anthony Mellor told a crowd of students, precinct workers and guests gathered for the ceremony that the flag raising was another step towards recognition and celebration of the first peoples of Australia.
“Today is a fairly simple ceremony, but an important one,” he said.
“This is an acknowledgement that our nation’s history goes way beyond European settlement, and into the depths of tens of thousands of years of inhabitance in this land.
“An important part of reconciliation is to be honest about our history and to acknowledge our history, and to recognise we stand on land that traditional custodians have looked after for tens of thousands of years.”
He said flying flags over St Stephen’s was not just a sign to the faith community, but to the wider community as the Cathedral precinct is a significant civic space too, where hundreds of commuters pass through each day.
The Torres Strait Islander flag was designed by Bernard Namok, a winning entry in a design competition held in 1992.
The colours of the flag represent the Torres Strait Islander people’s connection to the land, sea and sky.
The Aboriginal flag was designed by Harold Thomas and first used in 1971.
The colours of the flag represent the Aboriginal people of Australia, the sun and the connection to the land.
Both flags were adopted by the Australian Government as an official “Flag of Australia” in 1995.
