1000 Voices for Reconciliation - A Yarning in Song
Donation protected
The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service & Making Peasce, along with continuing custodians, are committed to honouring stories of service, survival, and strength through the transformative power of storytelling through music, floral tributes and pilgrimage. For this event they are partnering to launch a first of its kind event at Parliament House.
In a powerful act of storytelling and unity, 1,000 voices will gather in the Great Hall of Parliament House on May 30, 2025, from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM for 1000 Voices for Reconciliation – A Yarning in Song.
This landmark event will bring together voices from across the nation, including The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service, community choirs, leaders, elders and schools across Canberra, NSW, the Northern Territory and around the country, to share stories through song. At its heart will be The Anthem of the Desert Pea, a deeply moving song that reflects resilience, remembrance, and the shared journey toward reconciliation.
"Yarning in song allows us to listen, learn, and heal together,”
Uncle Raymond Finn, Whangangurra Desert Pea lands
"Through music, we honour the past, embrace the present, and sing for a future built on understanding and respect.”
Plterre Chris Tomlins Arrernte
Taking place in the symbolic heart of our nation – The Great Hall at Parliament House – this event features:
The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service INC
Ntaria School (NT)
Schools and Choirs across Canberra and from around the country
A massed choir of 1000 voices singing together in a moving concert for unity, reconciliation, and peace, and
Art and floral exhibits
Our Shared Mission
This collaboration reflects the shared purpose of both organisations:
The OZY Youth Choir Honouring Defence Service – bringing music and history together to inspire and develop young leaders. Giving voice to our emerging voices remembering those who died on country and for country and focussing on commemoration, education and welfare.
Making Peasce – creating safe spaces for healing, truth-telling, and community transformation through floral tributes, arts, education, and storytelling.
As we celebrate National Reconciliation Week, this joint event aims to honour the past, give voice to the present, and sing forward a more united future.
Your Support Will Make a Difference
We are seeking $10,000 to cover essential event costs including sound, staging, logistics, printing, promotional materials, travel support for some remote participants, and high-quality recording of the concert for future use in education and reconciliation storytelling.
Every contribution, large or small, will help bring this significant moment to life and ensure the stories and songs of healing are heard across generations.
Donation Goals
Your donations will help cover essential event costs including:
Sound, staging and lighting
Printing and promotional materials
High-quality recording and video production
Some Travel and accommodation for remote and regional choir members
Educational and community resources
Every donation plays a vital role in bringing this vision to life.
Your Donation Will Help Fund:
$50: A microphone for a child’s voice to be heard
$100: A banner to tell the story visually
$500: Travel support for one regional/remote singer
️$1000: Printing programs and resources for the audience
$2,000: Professional audio documentation
$2,500+: Video and Audio hire equipment
We also welcome in-kind and community support as well – every person and every dollar makes a difference.
No competitions, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made.
Why Donate?
Be part of history.
Support truth-telling and reconciliation.
Show your organisation’s commitment to community, culture, and country.
Celebrate our emerging voices and the strength of unity through song.
Together, We Can Be 1000 Voices Strong
Let us come together as community, artists, storytellers, and citizens — to sing, to listen, and to build a bridge of understanding.
Thank you for being a voice for reconciliation.
Join Us. Lend Your Voice. Make Peas/ce.
Organizer and beneficiary
Doris Gibb
Organizer
Exeter, NSW
OJ Rushton
Beneficiary