Acknowledging the Past: Learning, Listening and Building Relationships

by Elisa Mele Seul

When I first moved to Australia, I admired its vast landscapes, unique wildlife and the feeling that this was an ancient land. Yet I knew very little about the people who had lived here for tens of thousands of years, or the events that followed European settlement.

My background is in human rights, international relations and migration studies, so, naturally, I began asking questions. Whose history was I learning? Which voices had I not yet heard?

The more I read, the more I realised that Australia's past cannot be understood from a single point of view.

Over the years I have spent countless hours in archives, museums and libraries, but also around kitchen tables, at community events and speaking with Traditional Owners, local historians and migrants. Those conversations changed the way I look at history and they also changed the way I think about reconciliation as an ongoing willingness to learn, to listen and to build respectful relationships.

Learn the History

Every place has a history; some parts are well known, while others have been overlooked or forgotten.

For many years, Australian history focused mainly on exploration, settlement and the development of the nation. More recently, much greater attention has been given to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and to the effects of colonisation.

But I think neither tells the whole story on its own.

History is constantly growing as new documents are found, more oral histories are recorded and different people contribute their knowledge. Learning more does not erase what we already know, but it gives us a fuller picture.

I am dedicated to acknowledging the past not to make people today feel guilty, simply to encourage understanding on how Australia became the country it is today.

Listen to People

In my experience, books and archives are only one part of the methodology of research.

Some of the most valuable things I have learned came from listening to people tell their own stories.

While researching Italian migration in Queensland, I was fortunate to meet many people who generously shared their memories of arriving in Australia, building businesses, raising families and creating new lives.

At the same time, I learned from Traditional Owners whose connection to Country reaches back thousands of generations.

These are different experiences of the same land and one does not cancel the other; when put together they help us understand a place more honestly.

Most importantly, listening does not mean agreeing with every opinion or interpretation, especially if we consider that no single person holds the complete story.

Build Relationships Through Knowledge

I stongly believe that research has little value if it stays on a bookshelf; history becomes useful when it is shared with others. I base my own work on this.

A conversation, a book, a school visit, a museum exhibition or a community event can encourage people to look at familiar places with fresh eyes or perspective.

Whether I am documenting migration stories, writing bilingual books or investigating local history, my aim is always the same: to make research accessible and encourage conversations across generations and cultures.

Looking Ahead

Australia's history did not begin in 1788, nor is it made up of only one version of the story.

It is the history of the world's oldest continuing cultures and there is so much untold and uncovered knowledge.

The more we learn about each of these histories, the better equipped we are to understand the country we share today.

Acknowledging the past cannot divide us, ignoring it does.

Learning about the past, listening to one another and treating every history with respect gives us something far more valuable than certainty.

It gives us understanding, which is where reconciliation begins.

"History is at its most powerful not when it tells us who to blame, but when it helps us understand who we are becoming."