Warning: The article contains names and images of First Nations people who have died.
On what was described as a chilly and windy autumn morning, Julie Nimmo, a journalist covering the Walk for Reconciliation for Indigenous Current Affairs Magazine (ICAM) at SBS, felt both excited and nervous.
"I was making two half-hour documentaries. One was a documentary in the lead up to the momentous walk over the bridge, and that was laying out all of the concerns and issues of First Nations peoples at that time, which had been referred to as the unfinished business," she said.
"I also intended on making a documentary about what had happened with the walk over the bridge and how people felt about it afterwards."
Julie Nimmo (pictured) had one of the last interviews with Dr Evelyn Scott the night before the march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Credit: Jennifer Scherer
"No-one really had a strong sense of how many people were going to turn up. So I was really assigned to be on the bridge early that day and be prepared for absolutely anything to occur," Nimmo said.
This sense of uncertainty was felt by most, including the late Indigenous Elder and activist Evelyn Scott, who was the chair of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation at the time and led the coordination of the march as part of the Corroboree 2000 event.
The event was held over two days. The first event, held on 27 May 2000 at the Sydney Opera House, brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation presented the federal government with two documents: the Australian Declaration Towards Reconciliation and the Roadmap for Reconciliation.
The second event was the Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge that took place on 28 May 2000.
The night before the walk
Nimmo, now the editor of the ABC's Indigenous Affairs team, was one of the last journalists to spend time with Scott, as well as her colleague and a prominent historian and activist, Jackie Huggins, the night before the walk.
"The two of them were in the hotel room having a cup of tea, and it was one of the last things that I did for the day; talk to them about what their hopes were for the culmination of the Corroboree 2000 weekend, but also in truth, what were they expecting for Sunday?" Nimmo said.
The late Evelyn Scott at the North Sydney meeting place before the historic walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in May 2000. Source: SBS News
"The night before the walk, I went home without a concrete idea of what was going to occur on Sunday."
A 'triumph'
The next day, about 250,000 people walked across one of the country’s most recognisable landmarks in unison.
SBS journalist Anton Enus was also covering the event, stationed on the Harbour Bridge, gathering reaction from the crowd.
One participant told Enus: "I think it's a chance for the people of Australia to acknowledge what has happened in the past to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Another said: "Exhilaration would be the best word for it and it will give further momentum to the course of reconciliation. It's great to see the spirit of the people gathered here, and I think there is a feeling of triumph in the air."
Walks were held in 2000 to demonstrate a desire for reconciliation. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
"Early in the morning when it was still dark, we were all pretty nervous about what might unfold, but as people started to arrive and cross the bridge, it was just absolute elation," she said.
"There was so much joy in the air."
Frances Rings, now the artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, was also part of the coverage team that day.
Frances Rings, now the artistic director of Bangarra Dance Theatre, also covered the event in May 2000. Credit: Jennifer Scherer
"The mix of people from all different generations, from different cultural backgrounds, from different socioeconomic backgrounds, with Blackfellas, with our leaders and with our young people, with our families, and our peers — that mix and that collectiveness was this sense of, we're all one community."
A notable absence
The event was hailed a resounding success, despite the absence of then-prime minister John Howard.
Howard addressed a significant event for Corroborree 2000 at the Sydney Opera House, but refused to issue an apology to Indigenous Australians for the harm caused by laws and policies, particularly those impacting the Stolen Generations.
He said at the time that it was not the responsibility of the present government to apologise for the wrongdoings of the past.
"The government does remain firmly committed to the ongoing process of reconciliation, we may have difference to how that may be achieved," he said at the 2000 address.
The apology came later in 2008, under the Rudd government.
Then-prime minister John Howard refused to apologise to the Stolen Generations. Source: SBS News
"Our struggle for Indigenous rights and equality is bound up inextricably with the rights of all Australians, our freedom is your freedom," she said.
Reflecting on the day, Nimmo said there's a moment that will stay with her forever.
"Dr Evelyn was famous for always wearing her beautiful black hat, but by the time she had crossed the bridge ... she took her hat off and looked back at all of the people who were still walking across," she said.
"I remember her saying, well, there you go. It's happened and it's now a people's movement."
'A shift in the nation'
The Walk for Reconciliation set something powerful in motion. Just months later, Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman won a gold medal for Australia in the women's 400 metres race at the Sydney Olympics.
Rhoda Roberts, an experienced arts executive and the SBS Elder-in-Residence, said: "There was this groundswell of support, it seemed."
Rhoda Roberts is an experienced arts executive and the SBS Elder-in-Residence. Credit: SBS
"That massive bridge walk — pretty amazing. There was a shift in the nation."
Twenty-five years on, some of the outcomes of the Walk for Reconciliation have still not been recognised, including the call for a treaty, one of the recommendations from the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.
Karen Mundine, CEO of not-for-profit foundation Reconciliation Australia, said: "We can't not talk about the Referendum [Indigenous Voice to Parliament] — it's had a big looming over reconciliation."
"I think what's important there, what preceded all that was the Uluru Statement from the Heart — I think that really just encapsulates what were the aspirations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, not just over the last five or 10 or even 25 years," Mundine told SBS News.
"There's certainly stories or there's certainly the aspirations I've known my entire life. I've heard my mum, my uncles, my aunts, talking about these ideas of wanting to have a say in our lives and being able to have choices."
But there is still optimism for the future.
"I think reconciliation is not dead ... I'll always be optimistic. I'll always be hopeful," Rings said.
"I've got children and I want them to know that there's a world that believes in them. There are people, there's community, our society believes in their future."
— This story has been produced in collaboration with Living Black
