‘Winhanganha-yanhi – We Remember’ Exhibition which opened at Narrandera Arts Centre last week will continue until Sunday 7 December.

Indigenous war veterans, even after many years in the public eye, still have not been fully and rightfully honoured across the nation. The new exhibition brings awareness to Indigenous veterans in the Western Riverina through artistic expression, depth and significance.

The opening on Remembrance Day at 11am, begun with a ceremony in the Bolton Room at the Narrandera Ex-Servicemen’s Club, commemorating all veterans with Welcome to Country and a didgeridoo performance by Micheal Lyons Snr followed by a reading from Bernard Higgins.

Following on from the Ex-servicemen’s club ceremony, the group formed a procession down to the Narrandera Arts and Community Centre for the exhibition opening with catering provided by Micheal Lyons with a smoking ceremony and Welcome to Country from Neville Bamblett.

The event was well received with a strong feeling of reflection, respect and conversation and was a great coming together of everyone to remember and pay respect to all servicemen who fought side by side, regardless of who they were and where they came from.

The project is a collaboration between Wiradjuri artists Leila Constable and Bernard Higgins.

A major three-panel visual artwork by Leila expresses the national story of Indigenous veterans fighting to protect unceded sacred lands and their enormous contributions during the World Wars.

Bernard Higgins captured this story through a series of projected and animated poems that express the contrariety, rejection and disloyalty of a nation against its own people who were sent to combat in other countries.

The poems also explore the return from war to a life of suffering, incarceration and land loss, as well as fortitude and unending love of Country.

This article appeared in Narrandera Argus, 20 November 2025.