This minority are that way for good reason
Like many, I was saddened to hear that parts of the Dawn Service commemoration were disrupted by a noisy minority who took issue with the Acknowledgment of Country and, apparently, that a verse of the New Zealand National Anthem was sung in Te Reo Māori. I have taken part in many Anzac Day parades in Melbourne and country areas. The sanctity of the Dawn Service and Anzac Day itself is a time for reflection and commemoration, a time to thank our servicemen and servicewomen. Yet, that sanctity has sadly been added to a list of targeted events and locations where attention-seeking males have sought to show off their boorishness in displays of misplaced patriotism. Remembering, of course, that two generations ago, our forefathers and mothers fought against an ideology that this minority worships.
Should we be surprised? We live in an increasingly polarised society where social media algorithms stoke conflict, and in real life, extreme ideologies make the most noise. Stunts perpetuated by these so-called neo-Nazis are designed to shock, and the more grievous the stunt, the better for their publicity. It does not matter to them that they are on the wrong side of history, so long as the media broadcasts what they did and how they did it. Events such as the Anzac commemorations where we make an effort to be respectful, inclusive, and reflective, draw them like moths to a flame.
I know that our police and security agencies have identified the far-right as problematic, but trying to predict where they will appear next is a bit like whack-a-mole. But we should always be thankful that a much bigger majority of people truly understand and are respectful, and that was also on display at the Shrine of Remembrance. Jeremy de Korte, Newington
There is a time and place for protest
The bogans who interrupted the ANZAC dawn service at the Melbourne War Memorial should be ashamed of their actions during the commemoration of Australians who went to war. Many were injured during these conflicts and many gave the ultimate sacrifice. They went to war to protect our way of life and give our community the rights to many things, including the right to protest. However, there is a time and place to protest and the services was neither the time or place. It needs to be remembered that many Indigenous men went to war. Surely it is not hard to be respectful on that one day of the year that is held dear to the country.
Alan and Kaye Leitch, Austins Ferry, Tas
Can we not all feel that we belong?
I was born and have lived in Australia for 76 years. This is my home, my place – the place I feel connected to. I will always acknowledge the history and the original people of our land and I give respectful honour and gratitude to them for the way they have cared for and been custodians of this land. The main issue associated with the Welcome to Country ceremonies is that maybe for those of us with non-Indigenous backgrounds, they can make us feel that we will never belong to the land. That we will always be 'welcomed' but never looked upon as connected to this place, this land. That we will always be the outsiders. I have no issue with acknowledging our heritage at public events but I do with ceremonies 'welcoming' me to what I feel is already my home. I would just like us all to be able to feel that we all belong, that we can all call Australia our home, our land. Together. Connected.
Marilyn Hewitt, Ivanhoe East
Frontier wars were the first conflicts
I attended the Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance when the sickening heckling occurred during the Welcome to Country ceremony. What a despicable act from a very few. Not only was it a display of ignorance when Indigenous soldiers both served and died for their country during both world wars, but it is estimated that more than 35,000 died and were massacred defending their homeland against colonisers, police forces, and settlers. Until we recognise that the 'frontier wars' were the first conflicts and the most brutal for the Indigenous peoples across the continent, we can never progress as a country by burying our heads in the sand.
Dan Wollmering, Pascoe Vale South
THE FORUM
The goodwill of welcome
I'm dismayed at the outrage against Welcome to Country ceremonies at Anzac Day services and other major events. I'm dismayed that so-called ″patriots″ willfully don't recognise the law of the land (which unequivocally revoked terra nullius) and who deny the history of frontier colonialism.
I'm dismayed that their orchestrated outrage is pitted against my peoples rather than at the known neo-Nazi proponents who booed and shouted ″Australia for the white man″ at dawn services, and who are bastardising the memory of service of our soldiers.
Are blakfellas, like me, also dismayed at the ways Welcome to Country have been altered and [in instances] lapsed in meaning? Yes, we are. And the validity of Welcome to Country, as a symbolic formality, at what seems like any and all events (big or small) is something we're discussing. But this isn't something for YT Australia to interject on, and certainly not demand to cease. But, as formal proceedings anywhere are layered with gesture and ritual, Welcome to Country should feature at formal governmental, diplomatic or significant occasions. They are goodwill gestures – in spite of everything – intended to ″welcome″ into our own relationality with the lands. They're not gatekeeping exercises in granting ″permission″ for YT people to exist and live where they have always.
The Voice referendum being voted down (and which I myself stood against) was not carte blanche to do away with respect for First Nations peoples. It was an opportunity to redefine the ways state and mob interact and are represented, though the Voice couldn't articulate this with any surety of structure or meaningfulness. The ″No″ vote was not a referendum result that dispossesses the rights of First Nations peoples to safe visibility, and not an excuse to do away with the ethos of mateship. Shame on those who would mistake otherwise and still call themselves ″Aussies″.
Jack Wilkie-Jans, Cairns, Qld
Act of friendship
There seems to be a general misconception of 'country' in the welcoming ceremony. I was born in the 'North Country', which is an area within the 'Country' of England which, in turn, is part of the 'Country' of the UK of Great Britain. In the eyes of our Indigenous people, terra nullius is a conglomerate of tribal areas, each with its boundaries.
When we enter into a region, be it Garigal, Gamaragal, Wurundjeri, Bunurong or wherever Country, it is this region into which we are being welcomed. It is certainly not claiming ownership of the 'Country' of Australia.
It is a charmingly friendly act that should be accepted as such.
Geoffrey Palfreman, Dingley Village
Clear view of history
Some of your correspondents need to read a bit more about Australian history. The belief that the Anzacs were defending our country and were amazing heroes is sadly just not the case. Gallipoli was a poorly conceived and executed campaign and our soldiers never stood a chance. They were mowed down so needlessly at the direction of the imperial government and were not even defending our land. Let us never forget them but don't re-write history and pretend they fought an army 10 times our size and somehow defeated them against all odds.
Tim Sampson, Canterbury
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