The event marked the start of National Reconciliation Week.

Members of Aboriginal nations from across NSW and beyond acknowledged the steps that had been taken since 1967.

“It’s a big step for us to be celebrating it,” Orange’s Annette Uata said.

A descendant of the Noonbhaburra nation, Mrs Uata said reconciliation was a journey that would continue.

“Some people see the (1967) referendum as the end, but it was just the start,” she said.

“Some young people don’t understand what they were fighting for.”

Mrs Uata said Orange was unique as it included many members of Australia’s different Aboriginal nations.

“It’s like the platypus, it’s made up of different bits and pieces to create the animal and that’s what thrives. Everyone comes together and makes it work,”  she said

“[National Reconciliation Week] embodies everything that Aborigines have fought for and will keep fighting for.”

Mrs Uata said the campaign was about understanding the past, living in the present and fighting for the future.

NAIDOC Week committee chairman Gerald Power said the process of reconciliation over the last five decades had started with the referendum and continued with the Eddie Mabo decision, the Bringing them Home report and the 2008 apology.

“These are the stepping stones for reconciliation. The nation reconciling themselves with the traditional owners of the land,” Mr Power said.

Mr Power, a descendant of the Juru nation and Kanakas, said there would be more stepping stones.

“Reconciliation isn’t just between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. It’s also an internal understanding for Indigenous people who lived through injustices that were perpetrated.”

Mr Power said the next steps along the journey would be taken by younger people in the community.

“We need to encourage young people to share in the knowledge and experience of our elders to continue our journey of reconciliation.”