ELDER SPEAKS OUT AFTER SURVIVAL DAY BOMB SCARE IN PERTH

Aunty Barbara Moore

BY BROEDY SMITH AND TANGIORA HINAKI

A respected Noongar elder has spoken about decades of activism and the frightening moment she sat on stage during a bomb scare at Perth’s 2026 Survival Day rally.

Aunty Barbara Moore, 76, reflected on her lifelong commitment to justice for First Nations people, from land rights and homelessness to deaths in custody and the Stolen Generations.

She spoke with Ngaarda Radio about her early days in the 1970s on Whadjuk Noongar boodja, where standing up for her people was shaped by personal experiences of racism, institutionalisation and displacement.

From missions to protest lines

Aunty Barbara says she first protested alongside family and community as a young woman living on the fringes of Perth, alongside grassroots activists such as the late Aunty Ruth Kicket and Uncle Bob Bropho.

“We lived in tents, we lived on the outskirts,” she said. “We stood up for land rights, homelessness and justice.” Police presence was constant at those early rallies, she said, and even small groups were often prevented from gathering. On one occasion, protesting outside the Department for Child Protection in East Perth, she says she was knocked to the ground, and another protester was arrested.

“It was hard,” she said. “But we did it for our people.”

Survival Day 2026 — “There’s a bomb”

On January 26 this year, Aunty Barbara nearly stayed home, feeling unwell with emphysema and asthma. But she said she couldn’t ignore “the fire in my belly” and took a taxi to the rally at Wellington Square.

She arrived early, sat on stage, and shortly after, she noticed people moving away from the stage but did not know why. Police sirens filled the square. She said no one had warned attendees about a bomb, and there was confusion until 10 minutes later, a police officer took the microphone and announced, “Everyone, evacuate. There’s a bomb.”

“People were in shock,” she said. “I never thought there would be one.”

Aunty Barbara thanked the event organisers.

“They did a good job; people need to stop criticising the committee that pulled the event together.”

Man charged with terrorism offences

A 32-year-old Perth man has since been publicly named by court order as Liam Alexander Hall after a suppression order over his identity was lifted. Hall is accused of engaging in a terrorist act by allegedly throwing a homemade bomb into the rally crowd on January 26; the device did not detonate. He has also been charged with intent to harm and making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.

It is the first time terrorism charges have been laid in Western Australia linked to an attack on a First Nations protest.

Calls for accountability

Aunty Barbara said she remains stirred by what happened that day and questioned why Elders who were present were not included in advisory meetings afterwards.

“I was at the event alongside family. We should have been asked to give feedback at the meeting with Premier Roger Cook. I heard that there were people present who were not at the event. To think I could’ve been killed,” she said. “I’m a survivor … I’ll still stand and fight.”

Despite years of advocacy, she says the risks faced by those who protest for justice should be taken seriously, especially when peaceful gatherings are met with violence.