Vernice Gillies calls for return of respect following shattering of front door at Kurrah Mia over the weekend

Local Indigenous arts and craft shop Kurrah Mia has been the target of a physical attack that saw the front door shattered on the weekend, causing an estimated several hundred dollars worth of damage.

The damage was discovered on Sunday morning by Ms Gillies’ son Larry Blight.

After reporting the incident to the police, the broken glass panel was removed and the door boarded up until it could be properly fixed the following day.

She believes the vandalism is a result of the fast-approaching referendum and the mixed feelings in the community about the issue.

“It’s amazing just how rude and obnoxious people have become,” Ms Gillies said.

“I always thought we were a nation that had respect for each other.

“But I think that that respect in some ways has gone down the drain when people, and it may well be one or two people doing this, but it reflects on everyone.”

It’s not the first time Ms Gillies has encountered vitriol within the community in relation to the upcoming referendum, recounting her experience when she went to enter her early vote last Friday.

“I went down to the polling booth and I was in line and there was a couple who were standing behind me, a gentleman and his wife, and the gentleman proceeded to speak very loudly about how nothing is going to come out of the whole process,” she said.

“He was quite loud.

“He proceeded to tell me that I should be voting no, and I said to him that your vote is your vote, and my vote is my vote.

“I then ignored him for the rest of the time I was in line.

“We don’t go around saying to other people you should vote yes, we don’t do that because people will make up their own minds on what they want to do.

“Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to get any better until way after, until it’s all done and dusted.”

Saddened by the damage, Ms Gillies is ready for societal respect to return to the community regardless of the referendum outcome.

“I think that we have to get back to respecting each other,” she said.

“You know, we cut ourselves, we bleed red blood, you cut yourself, you bleed red blood.

“We need to respect each other and we need to respect whatever the outcome is of this whole process.”

The shattered front door of Kurrah Mia follows the tearing down of a Vote Yes sign that had been attached to a fence outside the Southern Aboriginal Corporation Chesterpass Road office.

Early voting for the referendum opened last week, with more than 2.2 millions Australians submitting their early vote to date.

Albany’s early voting centre is located at 120 York Street.