Archie Roach remembered as a truth-teller who united people

“Archie Roach was a man who put a powerful voice to the terrible experiences of the Stolen Generation through his music,” Allan said on Sunday morning.

“He gave a powerful voice, but he was also a fighter for justice.

Archie Roach and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on stage at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.Credit:Mark Gambino

“We will work out with his family during this sad time on any future arrangements that they may need to have to support them during this period.”

Boon Wurrung senior elder Professor Carolyn Briggs said the “generosity of spirit” that characterised Roach’s life and connection to First Nations communities would never be forgotten.

Having shared a friendship of 45 years, Briggs said the singer-songwriter created the concept of “truth-telling” in Victoria and had inspired many young Blak people.

“Through his voice and his ability to communicate across all of society, he brought the realities of the oppression of the past into the homes of all people,” she said.

“Through his voice, he revealed the personal and community trauma that arose from the oppression Victoria’s first people had encountered. And through this voice and amazing talent, he had the ability to bring people together rather than divide.”

Port Fairy-based writer Jock Serong said he first saw Roach perform in the mid-1990s at the Melbourne Concert Hall, now known as Hamer Hall.

During the gig, Roach had to stop playing Walking Into Doors several times because he was crying. Hunter spontaneously got onto the stage to help him finish the song.

“By the end of it, the entire venue was weeping. Never seen anything like it,” Serong said.

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Roach spent much of the end of his life in the towns of Port Fairy and Killarney on Victoria’s far south-west coast and was beloved by the local community, Serong said. The late songwriter had become a favourite of the medical staff at Warrnambool’s hospital while receiving care.

“Our district has a dreadful history with First Nations people, but Archie made people proud, and I think he helped them to change their thinking,” Serong said.

“He was all about reconciling, learning and forgiving. Although he was famously humble, he understood that his legacy will be important, and so he helped people who were working to preserve that legacy.”

Uncle Jack Charles said he was in “a state of misery” following Roach’s death.

“But like Archie, I’m compelled to continue my journey until it’s time to dismount and take my leave as he did, with grace, humility, and acceptance,” he said on Facebook.

Archie Roach and Jack Charles at The Age Music Victoria Awards in 2015. Credit:Luis Ascui

“Uncle Archie was a unique role model for his gentle approach to writing prolifically in these last months, much against the odds. I’m missing such a staunch comrade right now.”

Opera singer and director Deborah Cheetham formed the Dhungala Children’s Choir, which worked with Roach on his Let Love Rule album in 2016.

“Today our world has changed forever and our work becomes so much more difficult because Uncle Archie was holding up so much of our nation’s spirit in the work that he did, as a singer, as a truth-teller,” Cheetham told ABC News 24 on Sunday.

“It’s hard to articulate really succinctly what that role was in Australian society, but he softened hearts. He made it possible for us to walk on this path that we find ourselves on today.

“He had more songs to sing. He had more work to do, and yet he is taken from us now.

“It’s often said that we stand on the shoulders of giants … the whole of Australia can say that it stood on the shoulder of a giant in Uncle Archie Roach.”

Singer/songwriter Emma Donovan, who is of Noongar and Gumbaynggirr ancestry, said Roach had the power to change people’s minds “with every song”.

“Your integrity, your messages and perspectives in your songs will always carry me,” she said in a handwritten letter posted to Instagram.

“Seeing you sing was more than a performance. Thank you for the truth and singing what you lived, thank you for being so humble and so generous. Uncle, you’ll always be so special to me.”

Olympic gold medallist Cathy Freeman said she was saddened by the passing of “such a champion for First Nations people and all humanity”.

“I will remember (Uncle) Archie Roach as such a courageous storyteller and remarkable musician! You’ll never be forgotten,” she said on Twitter.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lauded Roach for his powerful music, which he said was drawn from “a well of trauma and pain, but it flowed with a beauty and a resonance that moved us all”.

Greens senator and DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara woman Lidia Thorpe said she was honoured that Roach and Hunter had performed at her 21st birthday party.

“Uncle Archie, thank you for validating the trauma felt in our communities since colonisation,” she said on Twitter.

“Your music brought us healing and peace. May our ancestors protect and guide you.”

With Roy Ward

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