Pictured: Choir members during the recording session in 2024.
For the third year running, Engadine Uniting Church served the community by hosting a community choir to commemorate National Reconciliation Week. Goanna’s iconic anthem Solid Rock was the song chosen by Reconciliation Australia for 2025.
In honour of National Reconciliation Week, we were thrilled to once again extend an open invitation to the local community to join in learning and singing the powerful song “Solid Rock” by Shane Howard, aiming to to promote reconciliation and understanding and unite voices in harmony, regardless of religious affiliation or singing ability.
Rehearsals were held at the church premises at 2 Chipilly Ave, Engadine on the following days:
- 10.30am Sunday 23rd March
- 7pm Tuesday 25th March
- 10.30am Sunday 30th March
- Final production and recording session: 5pm Sunday 30th March
Rehearsals were facilitated by talented local music teacher Andrea Harrison, whose infectious enthusiasm encourages each of us to find our voice and sing together. This is Andrea’s third year volunteering to wrangle us into a choir in honour of Reconciliation Week, saying, “I had so much fun last year I didn’t hesitate to do it all again this year.”
Choir coordinator Loraine Holley (above, at front with Andrea) said “I believe recognition holds a profound significance for Aboriginal Australians. It’s not just about acknowledging past wrongs but actively working towards understanding, healing and unity. Through music and solidarity, we can amplify voices, bridge divides and foster genuine reconciliation.”
The National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future and urges us to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us.
From Reconciliation Australia:
“This song, Solid Rock released by Goanna in 1982 was a call to action to the broader Australian community to understand the truth of our history and the importance of land rights. It became a classic Australian anthem, as relevant today as it was on its release.
According to songwriter Shane Howard, the inspiration for the song came on a camping trip at Uluru in 1980, where he saw ‘an incredible injustice that needed to be dealt with … I had to reassess my whole relationship with the land and the landscape, and understand that we had come from somewhere else, and we had disempowered a whole race of people when we arrived.’
The song’s legacy has endured over the decades as it continues to speak to new generations of listeners and performers. It’s been covered by Street Warriors, Darlow, Troy Cassar-Daley, Jessica Mauboy, Joan Baez, Wildheart, Loren Kate and many others.
A 40th anniversary version recorded by Goanna, Moss, Tasman Keith and William Barton was released in 2023.
We can’t wait to hear your Solid Rock contribution to National Reconciliation Week 2025.”
Last year, the choir participated in the nationwide rendition of “Blackfella, Whitefella.” This year’s endeavour sought to continue this legacy of unity and collaboration. You can see our 2024 contribution if you watch a segment of their recording in this video created by Reconciliation Australia in 2024, one of many collations made using entries from other choirs.
In 2023 we celebrated Reconciliation Week singing “From Little Things, Big Things Grow” alongside 500 choirs nationwide. Our performance was one of 22 featured in Reconciliation Australia’s final video clip. Discover the full story here.
For further information, please contact admin@engadine.unitingchurch.org.au.
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