The NSW Government has announced a new investment of $3 million to signal its ongoing commitment to exploring Keeping Places at former Aboriginal children's homes, progressing efforts to ensure that the legacy and stories of the Stolen Generations are never forgotten.
This investment will support the development of a business case into how the culturally significant sites of the Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home, Cootamundra Girls Home, Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home and the Parramatta Girls School can be preserved, as part of the NSW Government's response to the Unfinished Business Progress Report.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Don Harwin said the investment builds on work already underway by Aboriginal Affairs NSW and the Department of Regional NSW with Stolen Generations Organisations and Local Aboriginal Land Councils.
"I am proud that this funding will now progress our shared efforts to preserve and restore these sites as places of truth-telling and opportunities to educate future generations on the history of the Stolen Generations," Mr Harwin said.
The funding will support Stolen Generations survivors to record their stories and progress respectful investigation into accounts of missing children at the sites of the former children's homes, and also deliver urgent remediation work across these sites.
"Given the advanced age of some of the survivors, it is critical we record their lived-experiences for education of our nation's history, and support efforts to continue the healing process," he said.
"This preservation project will be the first of its kind for regional NSW, with improvements ensuring that the history of the Stolen Generations and its ongoing legacy continues to be understood and recognised in Australia," Mr Harwin said.
