...there's no further reconciliation...

'We're doing things here to try and create respect and harmony and this is what we have to put up with. This city should be ashamed of the people that live in it. There's no further reconciliation in this city, nothing will ever be reconciled. For a champion such as this, he's been a champion in this community all his life and this is what they do. They've got no guts, they take advantage of the darkness of the night to come down here and do this.'

Keywords: backlash, desecration, racism, reconciliation, tombstone ceremony, 1995

Alec Illin interviewed by journalists at Mabo's grave, 4 June 1995.
Author: Graham, Trevor
Source: Illin, Alec