THERE'S still a long way to go before the full truth is heard, a former Supreme Court justice says after a day of meetings with Indigenous Elders in Bendigo.
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Kevin Bell AM made the comments after members of the Yoorrook Justice commission visited Bendigo on Tuesday.
"The issues raised in today's Yarning Circle included Stolen Generations, the destruction of culture and experiences of racism," he said.
Professor Bell is one of five commissioners appointed to the commission, Victoria's first and only formal truth telling commission into Indigenous people's experiences since colonisation.
The commission is holding early discussions with Elders across the state ahead of hearings later this year.
"Every Yarning Circle is different. What is common is the strength of conviction and genuine personal engagement with the process," Professor Bell said.
Tuesday's Bendigo gathering was positive, he said, but none of the commissioners under any illusion about the scale of the task ahead.
They anticipate some challenging truths and unhealed wounds to surface.
Distinguished Professor Maggie Walter is a Yoorrook commissioner visiting other parts of the state for initial meetings with elders.
She expects the commission to hand down an initial report before November's state election.
"I don't want to pre-determine [our work] ... but our initial report will have findings and recommendations for change," she said.
Professor Walter said the commission would be the most important thing she had done during a career dedicated to revealing systematic disadvantage and inequality.
"I'm grateful to be part of this, though the enormity of the task does keep me awake at night, sometimes," she said.
Yoorrook is working in tandem with Victoria's First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, a democratically elected authority laying the groundwork for Treaty negotiations between the state and Indigenous people.
That body met in Bendigo last December and discussed ways to stop Indigenous voices being bulldozed during negotiations.
Co-chair Auntie Geri Atkinson used that meeting to urge Bendigo residents to support Indigenous mob the Dja Dja Wurrung in their efforts to write historic wrongs.
"We want you to learn that Culture, respect that Culture and walk on our journey towards Treaty together," she said.
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