Gweagal spears return anchors Sydney reconciliation breakfast

The return of the Gweagal spears to the La Perouse Aboriginal Community will take centre stage at the 2026 National Reconciliation Week Breakfast in Sydney, spotlighting a 254-year journey from dispossession to repatriation and renewed truth-telling in New South Wales.

The spears, taken from Kamay (Botany Bay) in 1770, were repatriated in 2024 after a decades-long campaign. Their return will frame keynote reflections by Noeleen Timbery, Chairperson of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council, who is expected to speak to the cultural weight of the artefacts and their role in the broader truth-telling process across New South Wales.

Key Points

A historic homecoming

Reconciliation NSW has positioned the homecoming on May 28 as a tangible outcome of sustained advocacy and acknowledgement. The organisation says the Breakfast will create space for truth-telling and community connection, while inviting a wider public to engage with the responsibilities that come with historical recognition and future-focused reconciliation.

“The return of these spears is a tangible outcome for our community and a marker of what is possible when history is acknowledged. It moves our conversation toward the real work of self- determination and justice,” Carly Bush, CEO of Reconciliation NSW, said.

Chairperson of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council, Noeleen Timbery.

The program underscores the importance of cultural leadership and community agency in repatriation efforts. By elevating the voices of knowledge holders and community leaders, the event signals a commitment to centring lived experience in reconciliation dialogues and to situating truth-telling as both a local and statewide priority.

Speakers and the ‘All In’ theme

Co-MCs Elley Blacklock and David Roberts will guide the morning’s program, which includes a panel of prominent First Nations leaders and voices. Also confirmed as a speaker is Michael Rose AM, Co-Chair of Reconciliation Australia, Chancellor of UTS, President of the Art Gallery of NSW and Chair of the Committee for Sydney, Greater Sydney Parklands and the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. Over the last 20 years he has been actively engaged in policy issues involving First Nations communities and Indigenous rights, employment, education and reconciliation.

This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, ‘All In’, is positioned as a call for all Australians to commit wholeheartedly to reconciliation. According to organisers, the Breakfast brings that call to life by convening business, government, community and First Nations leaders for a morning of truth-telling, cultural celebration and meaningful connection. The program focus reflects an intention to move public discussion from acknowledgement to action, consistent with the event’s emphasis on self-determination and justice.

The 2026 NRW Breakfast is supported by a network of partners and sponsors drawn from corporate, legal and community sectors, alongside ongoing government engagement.