Freedom riders attend film premiere

Six Peninsula residents, who participated in the Freedom Ride in February last year, will attend the premiere screening of a documentary about the ride in Tuggerah on Wednesday, May 30.

The riders will be joined at the event by members of the communities they visited.

The riders who participated included Joey Grauner, Cheryl Young and Ashley Young-Reid of Ettalong, Tiana Fulcher and Rebecca Bourne of Umina and Trent Brown of Booker Bay.

Freedom Ride 2011: The documentary records the journey made by 24 aboriginal and non-aboriginal young people and a support team of aboriginal elders, teaching staff and Youth Connections Koori Connect staff.

Youth Connections cultural adviser Mr Gavi Duncan said the screening was part of their promise to the Aboriginal people of north-west and coastal NSW,

"We visited remote communities, retracing the original 1965 Freedom Ride, led by the late Charles Perkins, to acknowledge this historic journey and to give community members an opportunity to have their say about constitutional change", said Mr Duncan.

Documented in film, in a kangaroo-skin petition book and on a message stick made of wattle, the views of the communities have already been shared with the expert panel to the Australian Government in September 2011.

"We want the voices of our communities to be heard", said Koori Connect manager Ms Denise Markham.

"The 2011 Freedom Ride has changed the way our young Freedom Riders think about themselves and our history.

"We want to reach out to everyone to ask them to listen."

Media Release, 21 May 2012

Sarah Webb, youthconnections.com.au