Gympie’s Walk for Yes in The Voice Referendum

A contingent of Yes supporters in the Voice to Parliament gathered at Lake Alford on Sunday, and though the gathering was small they were subjected to some heckling.

Gympie supporters of the Voice to Parliament had a different experience to their counterparts in Brisbane at the weekend, where thousands of supporters took to the streets.

Meeting early Sunday morning opposite the Monkland School at Lake Alford, about 50 people gathered to share why they supported the Voice.

While the gathering was small, the importance of the referendum to those gathered was clear.

“For me it’s going to change the practices of the past that have never worked for our people,” Gympie man and Gubbi Gubbi emerging elder Russell Bennett told the crowd.

“I want to see some changes in my lifetime and if we can do something with our Voice to bring about real change on the ground for our people, that’s what I want,” he said.

Lachlan Anderson, a Quandamooka and Wakka Wakka man who lived and grew up in Gympie, said the Voice would enable everyone to come together under the constitution.

Emerging elder Russell Bennett and Lachlan Anderson at Gympie's Walk for Yes rally in support of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. Sunday, September 17, 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

“The Constitution has fundamentally written Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples out and it is time to change the trajectory of our country,” Mr Anderson said.

“The reason why I'm voting yes is because it is in my blood 65,000 years of culture, my grandfather, my great grandfather, were not included.

“They were massacred and taken off countries and put into missions.”

While the crowd was enthusiastic, the mood was a far cry from what was reported in metropolitan areas - a passing motorist yelling out “No!” and a passer-by heckling the small crowd.

Gympie's Walk for Yes rally in support of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament had a small, but strong group of supporters. Sunday, September 17, 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

Jessie Wilkins, who was passing through Gympie on her way to Brisbane, said she was voting yes in solidarity.

After putting on a yes T-shirt at the rally, she strolled to the Gympie duck pond markets and said she was almost immediately challenged by someone she described as a “deep-fried Steve Irwin”.

When he asked her why she was voting yes, instead of giving her a chance to explain he cut her off, telling her about how all the Aboriginals he knew wanted to vote no, Ms Wilkins said.

“His missus was right behind him cheering him on every time he finished a sentence,” she said.

Jessie Wilkins and Belinda Wedlock at Gympie's Walk for Yes rally in support of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. Sunday, September 17, 2023. Picture: Christine Schindler

Meanwhile, in Brisbane about 20,000 people chanted ‘Yes’ holding signs which read “Stop the Trumps, Vote Yes” and “Maintain the love”.

It marks one of the biggest campaign pushes for the Yes vote since the referendum date was announced.

On October 14, 2023, Australia will vote on whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, the Australian government’s Referendum information website states.

See here for what voting yes means for the future of the country.