Sadly many people growing up in Australia have not been giving the opportunity of learning the true history of this country. If we don’t understand our past, it becomes difficult to understand where we are today to then know how to walk together softly upon this land. FISH uses social media and our work in the education system and through our professional development for schools, businesses and corporates, to share the past and how it has determined where we are today so that together we relearn how to value and appreciate our history and each other and how together we can bring positive change for all. There is so much written history and past documentation that is being rediscovered or brought to light to tell the true history of the past. Maps and plans are a great resource to tell the story. Australia was ‘settled’ based on the international law of Terra Nullius, a Latin expression that translates into English to mean "nobody's land”. Through using the International Law of 'terra nullius’, as nobody owns the land, this led them to the conclusion that the first nation to discover it is entitled to take it over, as "finders keepers". And yet when you read all the original journals of the majority of ships that first came to Australia there is entry after entry of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being present on the land throughout the country. The first Map of Australia from Nicholas Vallard’s Atlas in 1547 showed the presence of people. The French map of Australia in 1801 showed the presence of people working the land and yet Terra Nullius was declared. In the 1992 High Court of Australia through the Mabo v Queensland case determined that Australia was never terra nullius, or an empty land, determining that the original custodians had a system of law, social organisation, and property rights. Recently one of our past Prime Ministers stated there was never slavery in Australia and yet in 1891 a 'Slave Map of Modern Australia' was printed in the British Anti-Slavery Reporter and there is documented legislation that states that people were forced to work without payment. City maps, such as the Perth Map, shows us the segregation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from the key business districts and services of the city. As we get closer to the referendum and understanding the importance of the voice, we need to take the time to understand our history and why the voice is so important when in the past you haven’t been given a voice, especially through the most important document for the nation of Australia being the constitution. #history #understanding #knowledge #recognition #voicetoparliment #learningourpast #togetherwecan #togetherwecanmakeadifference #workingtogetherfortomorrow #education