More than 3,000 people have joined the final day of a 500-kilometre walk to mark the closure of Australia's first formal truth-telling process, the Yoorrook Justice Commission.
The four-year Aboriginal-led inquiry will become Victoria's longest-ever state-run royal commission when it formally concludes on June 30.
Since 2021, the inquiry has been tasked with establishing an official record of the history of colonisation of Victoria and its ongoing impacts on First Peoples.
In the inquiry's final weeks, Yoorrook Commissioner Travis Lovett has walked across half of the state in an attempt to raise awareness of the commission's historic work.
The Kerrupmara Gunditjmara traditional owner has already been joined by thousands of supporters on his 25-day Walk For Truth.
The walk began on Commissioner Lovett's traditional country near Portland, the earliest site of permanent European settlement in Victoria.
"This walk is about more than the past — it's about truth, understanding and the future we can build together," he said.
"It's about walking side by side, listening deeply with respect and taking steps toward a fairer Victoria for everyone."
Different paths, same direction
Around midday on Wednesday, Commissioner Lovett completed the walk after arriving at Victoria's Parliament House in Melbourne.
He told the crowd of thousands gathered alongside him they had not always walked on the same path, but "always in the same direction".
"We walked to honour the ones who couldn't. The ones who were removed, the ones who were silenced — and who also never came home," he said.
"We walked with their stories in our hearts, and their grief in our lungs."
The commissioner went on to describe his work at Yoorrook as "the honour of his life".
"At Yoorrook we have listened, not just with our ears, but with our whole beings," he said.
"We have sat with testimonies that carry the weight of generations. Testimonies that do not ask for sympathy, but for justice, for dignity.
"I have seen what this state can become if it chooses truth — not as a gesture, but as a foundation."
On Wednesday morning, in the lead-up to the final leg, a large crowd gathered to welcome him at Kings Domain, on the edge of Melbourne's CBD.
Maddison, 24, said she showed up to walk alongside First Nations Victorians in their journey for treaty.
"We're here to show that our support is continuing and we're continuing to listen and understand that the grounds we walk on are First Nations People's lands," she said.
Another family told the ABC they felt a "genuine sense of healing".
"I've been trying to explain to the kids about what the purpose of the walk is and what the significance of telling the truth is, and the point being that it's a healing process," one attendee told the ABC.
"It's so admirable and I'm just awe-struck by the dignity and grace that the leaders and the elders and the community have … so it was really important to me for me to bring my kids to just see these remarkable leaders of humanity."
Commissoner Lovett said he was inspired by the conversations he had with people during the walk.
"We've walked across country with elders and respected people from community but, also, Victorians have really got behind us and got behind the Walk for Truth."
"The body is sore, but how can you be sore when … we're elevating the lived experience of the First Peoples."
Yoorrook's final report is expected to be delivered to government in coming days and then made public sometime next month.
Over the last four years, Yoorrook has collected evidence from thousands of people as part of its comprehensive investigation into the past and ongoing impacts of colonisation in Victoria.
Designed and led by Victorian First Peoples, its mandate has been unprecedented in Australia.
It has heard from Stolen Generations survivors, elders, historians, experts and non-Indigenous advocates about the true impacts of colonisation and ways the state can improve outcomes for future generations.
In interim findings, Yoorrook, which means 'truth' in the Wamba Wamba language, uncovered evidence of grave and ongoing human rights abuses against First Peoples.
In September 2023, it called for sweeping reforms to Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems.
Those proposals received a lukewarm reception from government, which now fully supports just six of the inquiry's 46 interim recommendations.
It is understood Yoorrook's final report will include more than 100 recommendations including changes to the way Victoria's history is taught in schools.
While this truth-telling process ends, it's expected a call for further and ongoing- truth-telling opportunities will be pushed for as part of state-wide Treaty negotiations.
Australia's first formal Treaty negotiations are now underway in Victoria, though Victoria's Liberal opposition no longer support a treaty between the state and First Peoples.
While Victoria has participated in joint state-Commonwealth royal commissions which have run for more than four years, upon its conclusion Yoorrook will become the longest ever state-run royal commission in Victoria.
