History of the Sea of Hands

Beginnings

The Sea of Hands was originally conceived in 1997 as a creative way of symbolising opposition to the Federal Government's proposals to amend the Native Title Act to restrict Indigenous native title rights.

The Sea of Hands was preceded by a petition, the Citizen's Statement on Native Title, which quickly attracted thousands of signatories. The Citizen's Statement was authored by Phil Glendenning (ANTaR's current National President) and launched in early 1997 by Charles Perkins and others at the Harold Park Hotel in Sydney.

Realising that petitions presented to Parliament rarely have much of an impact, the organisers sought a way of producing a more effective and lasting result. The idea of a field of white hands in rows was conceived, like the white crosses of war cemeteries.

Australian Artists Against Racism (AAAR) was asked to develop the proposal and came up with the idea of coloured hands in the colours of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, planted in a design. The name 'Sea of Hands' was also conceived at this time.

Turning the Sea of Hands into a reality required finding an appropriate medium (a strong, light, flexible, colourful, re-cyclable plastic was chosen), support mechanism (wire), developing the basic shape, producing templates and dies, organising a storage system and developing an operational plan.

The Christian Brothers in Balmain provided funding to assist in manufacturing the hands and premises for their storage, together with office space for ANTaR's National Clearing House. Many volunteers were involved in assembling and boxing the hands and many others in helping to organise Sea of Hands events.

The first Sea of Hands - Canberra 1997

The first Sea of Hands was held on the 12 October 1997. 70,000 coloured plastic hands, each one carrying one signature from the Citizen's Statement, were installed in front of Parliament House in Canberra. Highlights of the event were speeches by Gladys Typingoompa (the Wik traditional owner who danced in front of the High Court following the Court's Wik decision) and Camilla Cowley (a non-indigenous pastroralist from Queensland who embraced the concept of coexistence rather than extinguishment of native title).

Six weeks later the Sea of Hands returned to Parliament House, this time with 120,000 hands, to launch a blueprint for a coexistence approach to native title. So popular was the first Sea of Hands in Canberra that over 500 volunteers turned up before work on the day to help plant the hands! The blueprint launched that day, "Six Steps to Coexistence", was endorsed by all the major opposition parties and representatives from national peak organisations.

Two and a half million hands later…

Although the discriminatory amendments to the Native Title Act were subsequently passed in 1998, the Sea of Hands has continued as an ongoing project which has come to represent the "peoples' movement" of ordinary Australians who want to see a genuine reconciliation process between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

To date over two and a half million hands have been planted in hundreds of locations around Australia and even internationally! Thousands of volunteers have been involved in organising and setting up these Sea of Hands installations and many hundreds of thousands more have enjoyed and marveled at the spectacle.

Supporting Indigenous voices

A guiding principle for use of the Sea of Hands has been to help make space for Indigenous people themselves to articulate their aspirations to non-indigenous Australians. Many prominent Indigenous leaders and individuals have spoken at Sea of Hands events, including the 'Father of Reconciliation', Pat Dodson, Geoff Clark, Mick Dodson, Lowitja O'Donohue, Evelyn Scott, Aden Ridgeway, Peter Yu, Gladys Typingoompa, Manduwuy Yunipingu, Jimmy Little, Linda Burney and many others.

At times, significant documents on Indigenous policy, particularly with respect to native title, have been launched at Sea of Hands events. The "Six Steps to Coexistence" was a coexistence blueprint launched at the second Sea of Hands in Canberra in 1997. In 2000, during the Sydney Olympic Games, Indigenous leaders launched their "Indigenous Reconciliation Statement for Talks, Solutions and Unity" to national and international media at a Sea of Hands at the Botanical Gardens.

Equally important is the support the Sea of Hands has provided to Indigenous voices at the local level. Local reconciliation events featuring smaller Sea of Hands displays have been held throughout Australia, encouraging non-indigenous recognition of Indigenous communities and helping to build new relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.

Large displays

The full Sea of 120,000 hands has been constructed in eleven locations: Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Wollongong, Uluru, Alice Springs, Darwin, Broome, Geraldton and Perth. There have also been many large displays of between 50,000 to 70,000 hands in situations where it has not been possible to display the full Sea.

These large displays require up to a hundred or more volunteers to organise and construct. Generally the sites measure approximately 100 metres by 100 metres. Local Indigenous artists are involved in producing designs for the displays of the Sea.

Media coverage has been extensive, not only in the city or centre where the Sea of Hands has been located but in the national and international press. Front pages of several capital city dailies have carried extraordinary photographs and stories of the Sea of Hands. The BBC and CNN have covered the Sea of Hands in their international news bulletins. The Times of London, the Guardian, the Irish Times, USA Today and newspapers in Italy, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere have carried photos and stories. The Sea of Hands has been extraordinarily successful in generating discussion and comment on Reconciliation and support for Native Title.

Perhaps the most ambitious Sea of Hands project has been the tour to the Centre, Top End and West of the Australian continent. Through September and October in 1998, a convoy of two buses, a pantechnicon, several four wheel drive vehicles and a motor bike travelled to Uluru, Alice Springs, Darwin, Broome, Geraldton and Perth. The Sea of Hands was erected in each of those locations accompanied by the usual concerts, ceremonies and celebrations engendered everywhere it has been.

"Puddles"

In addition to the large Sea of Hands displays, smaller versions (called "puddles") have been erected in hundreds of centres and suburbs across Australia. These have occurred in amazingly diverse situations, ranging from schools, colleges and universities, local reconciliation, church and other community group events, to local markets, fetes and festivals.

Demand for use of the hands in such contexts remains high and hands are constantly being packed, dispatched and received at storage locations in each of the state capitals. It seems that community attraction to the symbolism and spectacle of the Sea of Hands remains undiminished. In this respect, the myriad, local puddles of hands can be said to truly reflect what has become an unstoppable 'people's movement' for reconciliation in this country.

"Hands Across the Sea"

One of the most exciting new projects involving the Sea of Hands is what we call Hands Across the Sea. Part of the impetus for the project came from the successful installation of 6,500 hands in London during "Australia Week" in 2000 - a week of celebrations for the Centenary of Federation.

The Hands Across the Sea project involves a collection of 7000 of the hands travelling overseas to countries where reconciliation is a major political or social issue. The project requires a sponsoring group in the relevant country to take responsibility for caring for the hands and for using them in conjunction with a reconciliation initiative in their country.

The project kicked off in 2001 when a 'puddle' of 7000 hands was sent across to Durban to be displayed during the World Conference Against Racism. The hands have since traveled to other parts of South Africa and to Ireland in 2002.

For further information, including how you can add you name to the Sea of Hands see:

• Sea of Hands index page