Geelong: Reconciliation in the Park
Established by Aboriginal community leaders with One Fire in 2010, this is Geelong's annual Aboriginal community-led National Reconciliation Week event. By listening to and learning from local First Nations people we strengthen all of community on Wadawurrung Country.
With partners, we won the Victorian 2016 Community HART Award for this free event. This 16th year’s event will be at Johnstone Park on Sunday 1st June, 2025.
Djillong Project - https://www.geelongonefire.org.au/index.php/djillong-local-history
Initially created with the late Uncle David Tournier and updated with Corrina Eccles, the timeline about Djilang is a key local learning resource. Djilang: a tongue of land, connects us all to history and story on Wadawurrung Country. You can hear local Aboriginal leaders telling their stories - Djillong: Our History, Our Story, Our Future. Contact One Fire if you would like to purchase the timeline banner.
Geelong Council Advisory Committees
One Fire was represented for a number of years on the Heritage and Kilangitj Aboriginal Advisory Committees. On Kilangitj we sat alongside local Aboriginal community members and agencies. Council adopted a Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan in 2020, with some actions achieved. Currently Council has this Plan on hold. Broad community conversations about 26 January over six months in 2023 resulted in some progress for local truth telling on this date, however none have been enacted to date and Council stepped back from some key decisions which has disrupted trust and collaboration. One Fire Committee members continue making a case for respectful movement forward in collaboration with First Nations community representatives.
One Fire Members Learning Together
One Fire members learn with and are guided by Wadawurrung and other First Nations community educators through conversations, workshops and time on Country. This strengthens our knowledge and capacity to bring others with us in order to become more effective allies to First Nations people, backing their self-determination.
Backing Aboriginal Peoples’ Leadership & Self-determination - partnering
One Fire partners with local organisations. This included building young people's reconciliation leadership through the Wangala Balit Ngarrwa (making knowledge strong) Project over five years. This annual day of workshops with Year 5-aged students was provided through a partnership with the Koorie Engagement Support team, Wadawurrung Traditional Owner Aboriginal Corporation and Geelong Regional Libraries Service. The project built young people’s reconciliation initiatives through their schools, homes and communities.
Reconciliation Victoria - http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/
One Fire is a member of Reconciliation Victoria, attending online discussions and forums.
In 2023 we partnered with Reconciliation Victoria for Voice Referendum conversations in Geelong, in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
In 2025 the focus was be on the Victorian Treaty progress and our role as Friends of Treaty. In 2026 the Local Reconciliation/Ally Groups are exploring and addressing racism through self-reflection, which will be followed by broader conversations with non-Indigenous people.
January 26
Reconciliation Victoria supports a continuing national conversation about shifting our national day from January 26, and acting on the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
One Fire is committed to truth telling and the growth of knowledge about the impacts of colonisation on First Nations Peoples on these sovereign lands, including on Wadawurrung Country. This is, we believe, a necessary journey to a society we can all celebrate.
First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria - https://www.firstpeoplesvic.org/
“Treaty is our opportunity to tackle the racist legacies of invasion and create a better future together as equals.”
The first Victorian Treaty was successfully established between the First Peoples' Assembly and the State Government in December 2025. Progress is now taking place for Traditional Owner groups to negotiate Treaties that reflect the aspirations and priorities on their Countries.
Yoo-rrook Justice Commission - https://yoorrookjusticecommission.org.au/
The Commission mandate was to reveal, record and analyse the systemic injustices experienced by the First Peoples of Victoria since colonisation. These are available online. With Gellung Warl now established, the next steps for progressing the intentions of Treaty in Victoria are in place.
Uluru Statement from the Heart - https://ulurustatement.org/ & https://fromtheheart.com.au/
One Fire believes that our local activities are deeply interconnected with progress towards national reconciliation, or reckoning.
Whilst the 2023 referendum to establish a First Nations Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution was not successful, we continue to support the Statement’s intentions.
From the Koori Cirriculum - November 2025
Moving Forward: What Real Allyship Looks Like
- Listen to Aboriginal voices – not speak for us or about us without us
- Read Aboriginal historians – Marcia Langton, Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Tony Birch, Chelsea Watego
- Acknowledge the truth – colonisation was invasion, survival is resistance
- Support sovereignty – treaty, truth-telling, and voice
- Challenge other non-Indigenous people – use your privilege to educate your own mob