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Environment and Heritage

Building Bridges Concert

Celebration of First Nations resistance (1988)

Backstage at the Building Bridges Concert, 1989
Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
 

Location

To be announced

About Building Bridges Concert

The first Building Bridges concert was held on 24 January 1988 at the Bondi Pavilion. The concert was organised to present a high-profile media opportunity to counter the negative mainstream media coverage of the arrival of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into Sydney for the Long March for Justice Freedom and Hope, held in response to the bicentennial celebrations and a 'statement of survival'.

Poster for the 1989 Building Bridges Concert on 26 January at Bondi Pavilion. Features three smiling children—two Aboriginal and one white—alongside text promoting the event, including 'Australia has a black history' and concert details. The poster highlights it as a fundraiser for Aboriginal organisations.
Building Bridges album launch and concert poster, 1989. Photographer unknown. If you are the owner of the original image, or know who is, please contact the Blue Plaques team so we can organise relevant permissions.
Image Credit: Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly/National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

Building Bridges Concert poster, 1989

1988 marked 200 years since the arrival of the British First Fleet into Botany Bay and Sydney Cove – the traditional lands of the Eora Nation. In response to the planned 'celebrations', the First Nations leadership nationally, under the vision of the Rev. Charles Harris, organised the Long March for Justice, Freedom and Hope, which invited First Nations people from across Australia to gather in Sydney. It was Sydney’s largest march ever at the time.

The local Bondi Māori Community group Kotahitanga, who worked closely with Radio Redfern, were approached by Aboriginal activist Gary Foley to stage a high-profile concert in an attempt to generate some positive media and raise funds to support the mob coming to Sydney.

Black and white photo of Bart Willoughby playing the drums at the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. He was captured mid-performance, focused and energetic behind the drum kit.
Bart Willoughby playing the drums at the Building Bridges Concert, 1989
Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography

Bart Willoughby playing the drums at the Building Bridges Concert, 1989

'Your heart swole up'

The concert was an uplifting and politically charged event that brought together more than 3,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Gary Foley and Peter Garrett hosted the event, delivering messages of anti-discrimination, unity and hope.

This inaugural concert showcased legendary Mac Silva and Black Lace, the formative Swamp Jockeys with the Yothu Yindi Dancers, Brown Sugar and Joe Geia's band 'Nukkanya'. This concert led to the who's who of Australian popular music, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, performing at other successive Building Bridges concerts including Midnight Oil, Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Crowded House, Mixed Relations, Hunters and Collectors, and Paul Kelly. 

Future MP Linda Burney received one of the loudest cheers of the day, telling the crowd:

If you hear racist words, don't sit back and not speak up; if you see whites mistreating blacks in any way, act upon it; otherwise you are as much a hypocrite as everyone who has let these problems exist until today.

Kevin Cook, Aboriginal activist, educator and trade unionist, recalls the day of the concert in his book Making Change Happen:

It was very emotional, that gig at Bondi. You know, when you seen all the people coming in, your heart swole up. Talking to other people later, some of the musicians, they got caught up in that too. But from an Aboriginal perspective, everybody was pumped up. Really pumped up about the concert and later on, the march.

Black and white photo of Sharon Carpenter performing at the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. Only the right side of her face is visible as she stands in front of a microphone stand. She is wearing a dark sleeveless top and pants. In the background, a crowd of audience members is gathered in front of the stage, watching the performance.
Sharon Carpenter performing at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography

Sharon Carpenter performing at Building Bridges Concert, 1989

Building bridges: Australia has a black history

Inspired by the 1988 concert, the Building Bridges 'construction crew' – Jim George, Denise Officer, Andrew McMillan and Tony Duke – worked with Gary Foley, Kevin Cook, Tiga Bayles, Karen Flick, Chris Kirkbright and Mark Berthold to establish the Building Bridges Association, as a cultural support project for the National Coalition of Aboriginal Organisations.

Building on the interest from the Australian music industry, the crew produced a double album featuring both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal music. Released by CBS Records, the album was launched at the Bondi Pavilion on 26 January 1989. The album Building Bridges: Australia Has a Black History featured tracks generously donated by artists such as Joe Geia, Scrap Metal, INXS, Hunters and Collectors, Crowded House, Yothu Yindi, Midnight Oil and Goanna.

The overwhelming response to the initial call-out led to the project evolving into a double album. It reached number 47 on the music charts and helped Indigenous artists reach mainstream audiences.

Kev Carmody performing at the Building Bridges Concert at Bondi Pavilion in 1989. He is seated, holding a guitar, with a microphone stand in front of him. He wears a blue checked shirt and a headband featuring the pattern of the Aboriginal flag.
Kev Carmody performing at the Building Bridges Concert at Bondi Pavilion, 1989
Image Credit: Smart St Films

Kev Carmody performing at the Building Bridges Concert at Bondi Pavilion, 1989

A celebration of the survival of Aboriginal people

The Building Bridges concert became an annual 26 January event at the Bondi Pavilion until 1992, when it was handed over to the Aboriginal Arts Management Association, who moved then it to La Perouse as Survival Day.

Over time, the event moved to Waverley Oval, then Redfern, and in 2002 the Gadigal Information Service Aboriginal Corporation took it over, establishing it as the Yabun Festival. In the Gadigal language, Yabun means ‘music to a beat’.

The Yabun Festival highlights that cultural expressions by First Nations Peoples serve as acts of resistance against the colonial experience.

  • Photo taken at the 2024 Yabun Festival in Victoria Park, which traces its origins to the Building Bridges Concert. Groups of female dancers are shown with their faces, arms, and bodies painted in yellow and white. They wear traditional Aboriginal dance costumes and hold leafy branches, captured mid-performance in a vibrant cultural celebration.
    Yabun Festival, which has its origins in the Building Bridges Concert, Victoria Park, 2024
    Yabun Festival, which has its origins in the Building Bridges Concert, Victoria Park, 2024
    Image Credit: Roni Bintang and Getty Images
  • Black and white promotional photo from 1989 featuring Rob Hirst, Sharon Carpenter, Bart Willoughby, and Mark Callaghan standing in front of a graffiti-covered wall. A poster for the Building Bridges Concert is pasted on the wall behind them. The group poses for a photoshoot promoting the Building Bridges Concert album, capturing a gritty, urban aesthetic reflective of the era and the movement.
    Rob Hirst, Sharon Carpenter, Bart Willoughby and Mark Callaghan, photoshoot for Building Bridges Concert album promotion, 1989
    Rob Hirst, Sharon Carpenter, Bart Willoughby and Mark Callaghan, photoshoot for Building Bridges Concert album promotion, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
  • Photo of Bondi Pavilion, site of the 1986 Building Bridges concert. In the foreground, a young male surfer stands at the left edge of the image, holding a white surfboard. A wall separating the beach from the pavilion is visible, covered in graffiti. The scene captures a blend of surf culture and urban expression against the backdrop of this historic venue.
    Bondi Pavilion, site of the Building Bridges concert, 1986
    Bondi Pavilion, site of the Building Bridges concert, 1986
    Image Credit: Waverley Library Archives
  • Black and white photo of the handwritten setlist from the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. The setlist is drawn as a table with two columns and nine rows. The header row reads 'Time' and 'Band'. The left column lists time slots from 2:00pm to 7:30pm, while the right column names the performing bands scheduled for each time.
    Building Bridges Concert set list, 1989
    Building Bridges Concert setlist, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
  • Black and white photo of Joe Geia performing at the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. He is playing a guitar, positioned slightly to the left of the frame. Standing to his right is an Aboriginal man holding a didgeridoo, adding a strong cultural presence to the scene.
    Joe Geia playing guitar at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Joe Geia playing guitar at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
  • Black and white photo of Peter Garrett MCing at the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. He is wearing a hat and a short-sleeved shirt, holding a microphone in one hand and reading from a brochure in the other.
    Peter Garrett, MC at the Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Peter Garrett MCing at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
  • Black and white photo of a young child attending the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. The child has face paint and is captured in a candid moment, biting their second finger.
    Child attendee, Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Child attendee, Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography
  • Black and white photo of six Aboriginal male performers backstage at the 1989 Building Bridges Concert. The group stands barefoot, with traditional Aboriginal body and face paint. They are topless, wearing a mix of traditional cloth, costumes, or pants.
    Performers backstage at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Performers backstage at Building Bridges Concert, 1989
    Image Credit: Tony Mott Photography

References