ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OMITTED

I am delighted to be here for the opening of GOTAT | GUTHATH | 時代の潮目 | TIDES.

Zenadth Kes, so distant from us here – far inland in icy southern Australia – is a precious part of our country that we cherish for its beauty, deep history and riches of culture and heritage – represented so expressively in the flag under which the islands are united. And it's these flags that fly alongside the Aboriginal flag and the Australian flags at Government House. And always will.

Zenadth Kes’s influence on Australia, so strikingly disproportionate to your size and population, is powerfully symbolised by it as the birthplace of Eddie Mabo and the historic recognition of Native Title that emerged from his activism to claim ownership to the lands on the island of Mer. I came to know all about you through my husband Simeon and his late father, the anthropologist and scholar, Professor Jeremy Beckett, who devoted so much of his life and his heart to the people of the Torres Strait. In fact, it was Jeremy who gave evidence in the Mabo case as an anthropologist that could actually show his field notebooks and be able to support that land claim with the evidence that he had collected throughout the 1950s. Certainly, my life and our daughter's life have been totally enriched by Simeon and his family history and connection to the Torres Strait.

And as you all know, the connection between the people of Zenadth Kes and Japan reaches far into the past and deep into the waters of the Torres Strait, long before the arrival of the Kenkyūkai. In their research, however, the Japanese study group traveled far beyond the maritime economy which underpinned those earlier relationships, and as these extraordinary, beautiful and illuminating photographs reveal, they recorded a sweeping overview of Zenadth Kes histories and cultures and the lives of the people of the region. And did so with deep respect, respecting the geography, the economy and the infrastructure, the music, storytelling, dance and ceremony, the relationships with the ocean and the shore and between the islands, and they record the people, the communities and societies of the traditional owners, many of whom are here today. In words and images, the scholarship of the Torres Strait Kenkyūkai preserved an impression of Zenadth Kes from 50 years ago, which we will enjoy tonight. 

The transformative opportunities of the Japan-Zenadth Kes project belong to a narrative of healing, knowledge transmission and relationship-building that's fundamental to Australia's patient and persistent work of reconciliation. I know you are patient, but many of us will remain persistent in our work on reconciliation. The important partnership between the project team and Zenadth Kes voices and wisdom through the Gur A Baradharaw Kod Torres Strait Sea and Land Council is built on care and respect. And the project’s rekindling of links between the National Museum of Ethnography in Japan and Zenadth Kes offers a unique and important location for the deep and enduring friendship that exists between Australia and Japan.

As a visual chronicle of time, place and people, the images in this exhibition are a powerful demonstration of the scope of research undertaken by Professor George Ohshima and his colleagues in the Torres Strait Kenkyūkai.

As a pioneering example of a project outcome being driven by respect for relationships, knowledges and histories, GOTAT | GUTHATH | 時代の潮目 | TIDES is an uplifting and energising model for the impact of research based on partnerships and connection.

It's a model that I really hope is mirrored across the disciplines, by scholars, institutions and communities long into our shared future. I want to add my congratulations very warmly to everyone involved in this project, which brings us all so happily together tonight in a spirit of love and compassion and friendship.