Organisers and leaders thrilled by the big crowd turnout at Albany’s Walk For Yes

Hundreds took to central Albany on Sunday to show their support for the Yes vote in next month’s Voice to Parliament Referendum. The statue of Mokare in the Alison Hartman Gardens welcomed a crowd which steadily grew from 11am as Indigenous members of the community spoke about what a positive outcome in the referendum would mean for them. Carol Pettersen told the crowd she was pleased to see such a big turnout amid an increasingly loud campaign for No. She noted that Indigenous people were missing from the “birth certificate of Australia, our nation” because they were not recognised in the constitution. “Let this be about pride and posterity. Let us stand tall as a nation, and let us vote Yes.” Vernice Gillies told the crowd how she used to help welcome new citizens to the country on Australia Day. “There I was welcoming new Australians and I am not recognised the same in my own country,” she said. “That has to change, and with the help of all of you we can do it.” Oscar Colbung encouraged those in attendance to have conversations with people who were undecided leading into the referendum. “It’s not about taking people’s land or anything like that the fear-mongers have said — there has been a lot of fear-mongering going on,” he said. “It’s about giving us a voice that will continue on for the next generations. “It’s not just for Indigenous Australians, it’s for everybody . . . it’s not about race.” Lindsay Dean said Indigenous Australians had been pushed to the bottom and enshrining a voice in the constitution would mean continued representation regardless of who was in Government. Kim Scott said the voice was about listening and that there was “a motivation of fear” behind those that wanted to vote No. “Noel Pearson said ‘maintain the love’ and that, to me, is what this is all about,” he said. Olivia Roberts said it was about “preserving what is special about our community” and Eliza Woods told the crowd about the rules she had to follow growing up in Gnowangerup. Traffic was then stopped as the crowd crossed York Street and made its way down to Peel Place in a long procession, before crossing the road again to return up the road to the Town Square. Many in the crowd waved signs declaring their support for the vote, while Dave Rastrick and John Corson teamed up to play You’re The Voice — the Yes Campaign’s official anthem — on the horn and bagpipes. Participants were urged to have conversations with one another before, during and after the walk about how to engage The Albany walk was one of more than 40 similar rallies taking place across the country on Sunday. Thousands crossed the Matagarup Bridge in Perth on their way to Optus Stadium in Perth for an event that was attended by many WA MPs. The referendum will take place on October 14. It will ask the Australian people whether they support recognising Indigenous Australians in the constitution by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.