Dr Aunty Barbara Nicholson addresses the crowd at the launch of ‘We Voted Yes: The Wollongong Yes Referendum Story’. Photo: Jeremy Lasek.
Wollongong’s campaign for The Voice referendum resulted in Cunningham being one of the few electorates across the nation to vote ‘Yes’.
The battle wasn’t easily won. The margin was just 4 per cent.
Now the historic crusade has been preserved in a new book, We Voted Yes: The Wollongong Yes Referendum Story.
The book documents the local ‘Yes’ referendum campaign during 2023 and provides personal stories and reflections in the months leading up to the vote, and the impact of the result.
Mangerton resident Theresa Huxtable shared her experience of the campaign, from handing out leaflets to organising volunteers at the polling booths.
Theresa said it was a time that showcased the best and worst of Wollongong.
“There was so much generosity; my phone never stopped ringing because people wanted to help,” she said.
“Overall there was a positive feel in the air; I think the campaign in Wollongong was very powerful.
“There were some aggressive incidents; we did have a man come up and just yell while we were handing out flyers.
“It was hard to understand why someone would feel like that.”
Theresa said that on polling day in particular emotions were running high, but overall there was an upbeat vibe at most booths around Cunningham.
That mood changed quickly when the results from around the country came in.
“We met in the Town Hall that night, and it was devastating,” she said.
“I felt absolutely deflated. It was such a small ask to give people a voice in their own lives.
“I was flat for days; I didn’t see friends for a week; I was really disappointed.
“I believed in it; it’s a fair thing to do, the right thing to do, and when you commit everything to something you believe in, it’s a pretty harrowing outcome.
“It might be naive on my part, but I think people have goodness in them and I didn’t know why people would not think this was the right thing to do.”
After the dust had settled, the idea for a book to record the campaign, and its results, was suggested.
Organisers felt it was a way to ensure history wasn’t written entirely by the victors, and to commemorate Wollongong’s proud tradition of standing up for all members of the community.
Theresa said the book recorded important details that could easily be lost to the march of time.
“You forget all the fine detail of things that happened,” she said.
“People forget – we get tied up with our lives and off we go.
“I am so impressed with what they’ve come up with; it’s a modest factual account of how it was – it’s really terrific.”
We Voted Yes: The Wollongong Yes Referendum Story was launched at the University of Wollongong’s Woolyungah Indigenous Centre. Copies of the book can be purchased from the UOW Bookshop and Collins Thirroul Bookshop.
