WALK FOR RECONCILIATION RETURNS TO GALUP

Ian Wilkes leads a Galup show Photo credit: Dan-Grant

BY ASAD KHAN

Reconciliation WA has confirmed a new date for the Walk for Reconciliation – Karni Walbiriny Koorliny, the Walk of Truth and Healing, now set for Thursday, 30 October, at Galup (Lake Monger).

The annual event brings West Australians together on Country to acknowledge the truth of our shared history and walk toward healing and reconciliation.

Originally postponed in June due to bad weather, the walk now takes place during Kambarang, the Noongar season of renewal, symbolising growth, reflection, and new beginnings.

Walking Together on Country

The Walk for Reconciliation will unfold in three waves throughout the day, inviting people of all ages and backgrounds to participate.

l-r: Poppy Van Oorde-Grainger, Ian Wilkes and Glenda Kickett (Image: Rhiannon Clarke)

Galup, known today as Lake Monger, is a site of deep cultural and historical significance for Whadjuk Noongar people. It was also the location of a colonial massacre in 1830—a truth many Australians are still learning to confront.

Continuing the Galup Story

This year’s walk builds on the ongoing work of the Galup Arts Project, curated by Noongar artist and performer Ian Wilkes and his team. The project has become an important platform for storytelling, truth-telling, and cultural education across Western Australia.

Mr Wilkes told Ngaarda Media that the walk is not about guilt or blame, but about shared understanding and connection.

“I hope people feel like they can connect to this culture and this place as home,” he said.

“Sometimes stories such as a massacre are triggering for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

“We’re the ones that hold that history and that blood that’s been spilled and there’s often a bit of guilt passed to the next generation of non-Indigenous mob. But we don’t want that,”

“It’s not about guilt or blame, it’s about acceptance and asking, how can we make it better from this moment onwards?”

Listen to Ngaarda Media’s Asad Khan speak with Ian Wilkes: