Thousands have gathered to farewell Archie Roach, a Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung) and Bundjalung artist and musician, in a state memorial service at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl.
Here's how the night unfolded.
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Goonight
By Yara Murray-Atfield
That brings us to the end of tonight's blog.
Thank you to my colleagues Corey Webster and Daniel Browning for sharing their reflections with us, and thanks to the blog audience for following along at home.
In his 66 years, Archie Roach touched the lives of millions. His voice was a bridge — between cultures, between a bitter past and the future filled with love he envisioned.
I'll leave you with some of Archie's words from a 2019 interview with the ABC.
"It's a good life," Archie said.
"It's a bad start, you know, but you come good. I think you can start off in a bad place, but people and people you find, what you find through your life — it can help you to overcome obstacles … and you find the strength to go on."
Some of the highlights of the memorial
By Yara Murray-Atfield
There are too many to mention, but here are some of the most memorable moments.
The service has brought out lots of emotions
By Yara Murray-Atfield
I idolised Archie. I'm crying my eyes out.
- Natty
Thank you to a magnificent example of an Indigenous Elder who showed by Example exactly how to achieve and overcome such grief at the loss of his much loved Ruby his wife -and to create beautiful music for. Many of Australians First Nations people Written by a WhiteAustraian /with69 percent Irish Heratage
- Patricia White
Liyarn Ngarn brings back memories. I had the absolute privilege of being in the backing choir for a performance of it with Archie Roach in 2015.
- Clare
'We won't cry / We will lift our spirits high'
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Condolences are being shared from across the country after that service
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Sending my heartfelt condolences and love to family, friends, and all in the community❤️🙏🏼
- Annie Nash
My deepest condolences to Archie's family. He was a brilliant entertainer.
- Fiona Bunn
'I'll never forget that night'
By Yara Murray-Atfield
I was very privileged to have seen Archie and Ruby perform in Alice many years ago. It wasn't just a concert I realised when I met many indigenous people who had gathered from afar. His music echoed their stories, their pain but also their hope. I listened to stories that were very hard to hear but so honestly told. Whilst the sorrow was felt so too was the feeling of healing. I'll never forget that night. He's left a legacy that we can all take forward.
- Gabby
Archie was a prolific performer, and those who were able to see him live are sharing their memories.
Let's revisit some of those incredible performances
By Yara Murray-Atfield
The music tonight has been spectacular. Artists spanning many generations, from all parts of this land, all coming together to pay tribute to a legend.
Walking Into Doors was performed by Radical Son and David Bridie:
And we had Dan Sultan, Richard Pleasance Deline Briscoe and Marlon Motlop performing Move It On.
Rest in power, Archie Roach
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Thank you to my colleague Corey Webster, AKA Nooky from triple j's Blak Out program for sharing his thoughts with us tonight. He sums up the night:
This whole tribute has been beautiful, everyone really held it down and I swear I could hear Uncle Archies voice harmonize with the mob.
This tribute has made me reflect on the impact Uncle Archie and his music has had on me, from listening in Nan’s car to later on meeting Uncle Archie and sharing stages and stories with him.
When he shouted me out once in an interview in the early days of my career will always be something I remember and cherish forever, being a young Blak artist at the time getting an acknowledgement from a pioneer, legend and leader really lifted my spirit and gave me energy to keep creating my own path.
Again, thank you. Rest In Power Archie Roach.
The service ends with that message of love
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Our hosts thank everyone in the crowd, those who performed and all Aboriginal people involved.
They give a special thanks to Archie's family for sharing him with us tonight.
Here’s what Archie had to say about Let Love Rule
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Let Love Rule is the title track of Archie’s 2016 album.
The entire album was centred around the concept of love. Here’s what he said about the album and that concept, according to his website:
"I wanted to write about love, or a willingness to love all people …
We are closing ourselves off and not letting people in. And not just in the sense of not letting them into the country, but not letting them into our hearts, into our minds. This country was built on people coming here from other countries. That's what made Australia what it is today."
Let Love Rule is the final musical performance of the night
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Professor Deborah Cheetham AO, Jessica Hitchcock, Dr Shellie Morris, Nancy Bates, Dhungala Children’s Choir and Craig Pilkington are performing together.
"Archie was a great optimist about humanity and about love healing humanity," Pilkington says.
Nopun Kurongk
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Emma Donovan, best known as the frontwoman of the Putbacks, is on stage with pianist and composer Paul Grabowsky and Uncle Russell Smith.
They're joined by Archie’s band to perform Nopun Kurongk, a haunting song about the Stolen Generations.
The lights are dimmed for this track, and the crowd is silent as a wind blows through the performers' hair.
A tribute from Archie’s family members
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Up on stage now are Uncle Eric Richards and Jeffrey Hunter, the brothers of Ruby Hunter, Archie’s life partner who passed away in 2010.
They're joined by Janaya Roach, Archie's granddaughter.
They're sharing memories and introducing the next song, Nopun Kurongk.
Janaya fights back tears as she says Nopun Kurongk, written by Archie and Ruby, is one of her favourite songs.
'We won't cry, we'll fly'
By Yara Murray-Atfield
David Arden, Candice Lorrae and Rulla Kelly-Mansell are on the stage now to perform We Won't Cry.
This song about resilience, community and resistance was first released on the 2012 album Into the Bloodstream.
Here's Corey Webster:
Uncle had an undeniable gift of story-telling and a voice that commanded attention in the most humble way, he had a way of turning dark times into a shining light and with that light he created, he lit a path for generations to come after him, leaving a story of healing and love.
We won't cry, we’ll fly. Fly high Uncle Archie, thank you for everything.
Archie's message
By Yara Murray-Atfield
"He had this message of joining together, a message of Country, and he also had a remarkable lack of rancour about what had happened to him in the past," Dr Irving says.
"And I think he was able to resolve and forgive by telling stories, singing songs and by writing things."
He says Archie would barely be able to get on stage, but once he sat with a guitar "an energy would come from somewhere".
Spiritual illness and returning to Country
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Shelton introduces Lou Irving, a respiratory physician at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre with a special focus on lung cancer.
She says Dr Irving became a member of Archie's family while he helped in his treatment.
Dr Irving says Archie was diagnosed with lung cancer not long after his wife Ruby died.
He pays tribute to Archie's work as an ambassador.
"There are three types of illness," he recalls Archie saying at a First Nations conference overseas.
"There's physical illness, there's emotional illness and there's spiritual illness."
Dr Irving says Archie's cure for spiritual illness was, simply, "return to Country".
"Archie was highlighting very simply that unless we resolve that issue, a large percentage of people in Australia will never be completely well," he says.
Archie's 'spirit propelled him forward'
By Yara Murray-Atfield
On stage now is Jill Shelton, who helped set up the Archie Roach Foundation in 2014 and has worked as a manager, producer and booking agent across the music industry for the past three decades.
Shelton throws forward to the next song, We Won't Cry.
She says Archie wrote it around the time he was diagnosed with lung cancer.
"The message of the song is we won't cry, we'll fly, high," she says.
"And that's what Archie did when he was on stage singing."
She says for a lot of the 15 years she worked with Archie, he was unwell, but "his spirit propelled him forward".
Liyarn Ngarn
By Yara Murray-Atfield
We're slowing it down a bit now, with the song Liyan Ngarn, which was written for the soundtrack of a 2007 documentary by the same name.
According to the National Film and Sound Archive, the Liyarn Ngarn means 'a coming together of the spirit' in the Yawuru language of the West Kimberley region in Australia's far north-west.
It's being performed tonight by Archie's good friend Shane Howard AM and his band Goanna.
Before he starts singing, Howard shares stories about time spent with Archie and Ruby.
"I feel his spirit so strong here tonight," he says.
'Always generous with his time and insight'
By Yara Murray-Atfield
Here's my colleague Corey Webster on the cover of Move It On:
I know Unc played a big part in each one of their journeys as he did for a lot of mob, always generous with his time and insight, seeing all these mob pay tribute to such a great man is a testament to who he was and what he meant for us.
Dan leading this rendition with such authority and emotion in his voice.
Blak Power is in effect.
Move It On
By Yara Murray-Atfield
We're continuing to move through Archie's expansive discography tonight, with Move It On from the 2002 album Sensual Being.
This song is about Archie's life, its lyrics about disadvantage and disconnection married with blues licks and an up-tempo beat. It also references Queen Elizabeth's visit to Shepparton in 1956, when hessian was raised to shield the monarch from seeing Aboriginal camps nearby.
Tonight we have Dan Sultan and Richard Pleasance with Deline Briscoe and Marlon Motlop performing a rendition.
