On Tuesday, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC, Governor of New South Wales, and Mr Dennis Wilson, continued their regional visit in Dubbo.

In the morning, the Governor and Mr Wilson attended the Evelyn Barker Memorial Walk and NAIDOC Week Flag Raising Ceremony and Morning Tea, held in memory of Evelyn Barker, a respected community leader and Elder.

Afterwards, Her Excellency and Mr Wilson met with support workers and clients of Their Futures Matter, a health service for vulnerable young people and families.

In the afternoon, the Governor and Mr Wilson met with Mr Mervyn Bishop, Australia’s first Aboriginal press photographer, at Charles Sturt University, Dubbo Campus, where they received an escorted tour of his exhibition. Mr Bishop covered the major developments in Aboriginal communities throughout Australia, including the historic moment in 1975 when the (then) Prime Minister, The Honourable Edward Gough Whitlam AC QC, poured a handful of earth back into the hand of  Mr Vincent Lingiari AM, Gurindji Elder and traditional land owner.

Later, Her Excellency and Mr Wilson met with the family of the late Mr Bill Ferguson, a local Indigenous leader, who launched the Aborigines' Progressive Association at Dubbo and who helped to organise the ‘Day of Mourning’ conference for Aboriginal people, on Australia Day in Sydney in 1938. Her Excellency and Mr Wilson then viewed the sculpture erected in his honour in Dubbo.