Sorry Day is a source of national pride, pain

Four years after former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to indigenous Australians of the stolen generations, mixed feelings of pride and pain still swell in the heart of Broome local Buddy Morrison.

The Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation director said the occasion raised different feelings in everyone.

“Aboriginal people have waited a long time (for the apology),” he said.

“It doesn’t cover everything but it does help.”

Last Saturday, Mr Morrison and members of KSG, who are all artists, marked National Sorry Day at the Broome Markets displaying their artwork, and chatting to locals and visitors keen to learn more about the occasion.

National Sorry Day was also a time for Mr Morrison to reflect on his life and family.

His childhood was spent moving around different towns in WA with a large family.

At the age of 12, Mr Morrison was separated from his family and taken to a Christian mission.

He returned to his hometown of Katanning as a teenager in 1959 to assist his father with labour work.

A few years later, he arrived in Broome where he met the love of his life, Lena Cox.

He has spent the past decades raising a family and played a prominent part in supporting members of the Stolen Generation through KSG. Mr Morrison said it was important for younger generations to learn about Australian history, including its dark chapters.

“I would like to see the history (of the Stolen Generation) brought out on a clean slate and written properly,” he said.