Thomas Mayor will discuss his book Finding the Heart of the Nation with Elijah Bravington on Friday 28 February at Aldinga Library. 

Mayor is a Torres Strait Islander raised on Larrakia country in Darwin, while Bravington is an Arabunna man living on Kaurna land. Both men are signatories of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which was released in May 2017 at a historic Convention at Uluru.

The statement calls for a First Nations’ voice to be enshrined in the Australian Constitution, and for a formal structure to oversee treaty-making and truth-telling about the nation’s history. 

“There’s a great job to do here to educate people,” Mayor says. “If the truth is known then the voice will be able to ensure outcomes that support our people, that lift us, that give us equality, that give us a better standard of life, and close the gap. These differences between us cannot be changed until we have a representative body and a national structure.”

A total of 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander delegates endorsed the Uluru Statement from the Heart with standing acclamation at the national convention. 

The Australian Constitution, formed in 1901, has no reference to the historical and contemporary place of First Nation Australians within this country. Australia is the only Commonwealth country that doesn’t have a treaty with its Indigenous people.

Mayor states in his book: “Constitutional recognition by enshrining a voice is a way of righting this historical wrong.”

In October 2017 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull dismissed the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

“But we didn’t take no for an answer,” Mayor says. “I travelled the country, myself and other colleagues and comrades. Our people poured our hearts and souls into the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We’ve made these proposals with careful thinking. These are the achievable reforms that we need to change the plight of our people.” 

Mayor has presented the Uluru Statement’s sacred canvas to thousands of Australians on his national travels. His book Finding the Heart of the Nation is the result of this journey towards voice, treaty and truth. 

Copies of Finding the Heart of the Nation will be available for purchase and signing at the Aldinga Library event. 

In Conversation with Thomas Mayor

Friday 28 February 

6.30pm - 8.30 pm

11 Central Way, Aldinga Beach

Bookings essential