A National Day of Action: Where to Protest the Murder of Cassius Turvey

Content Warning: This article contains references to violence and an image of an Indigenous person who has died.

On October 13, Cassius Turvey was a 15-years-old kid walking home from school with his mates in Perth’s Middle Swan. He should have made it home. There should be no news to report here.

However, on that date, a 21-year-old man called Jack Brearley got out of a black Ford Ranger ute and confronted Turvey. He allegedly smashed Turvey with a metal pole. He allegedly called Turvey racial slurs.

Turvey was a First Nations kid, a Noongar Yamatji boy. After this alleged attack, after alleged spray of racial slurs, this 15-years-old died in hospital. 

Despite the fact that Turvey is Indigenous, the police have refused to categorise his death as a racial attack. 

“We are not operating on any principles of racism or motivation at this point other than to say we believe there was a damage incident that occurred and that resulted in the murder of a very young boy,” said Western Australia Police Force’s Commissioner, Col Blanch.

“It may be a case of mistaken identity, it may be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I would not want anyone in the community to jump to any conclusions at this time.”

Blanch’s comments have caused a whack of backlash. This is because there’s no place or time that a First Nations kid should be murdered. 

As the writer and activist Carly Findlay, said, “He was only 15, walking home from school. The Police Commissioner’s attitude is awful.”

“Does that mean the man who killed Cassius was in the right place at the right time? Cassius should have been safe to walk home. The white man should not have killed him.”

Even our Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has made a comment regarding Turvey’s murder: “This attack, that clearly is racially motivated, just breaks your heart.”

The Vigils Past

In response to Turvey’s murder, a series of events have been held, with more on their way. These events honour the life of Turvey, call on the police to do better, and call on everyday Australians to care about the lives of First Nations peoples

On October 31, around 2000 people attended a vigil for Turvey in Perth’s Weeip Park. In attendance were Cassius’s mother, uncles, brothers, nieces, and close friends.

“Fifteen forever. Justice for Cassius. And I just want to put this message out stronger, stronger and stronger. All kids matter,” said Mechelle Turvey, Cassius Turvey’s mother. 

“Thank you for loving my son whether you knew him or not.”

Related: We Can’t Just Show Up for NAIDOC Week

Related: “History Is Calling, Let’s Get This Done”: It’s Time for a First Nations Voice in Parliament

Upcoming Events for Cassius Turvey

As previously noted, there is still a ton of upcoming events honouring the life of Turvey. These events are being collectively called A National Day of Action.

If you want to attend one of these events here’s, the info that you need to know:

NSW

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 6:00pm Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation Airds 
November 2 6:00pm Eden RSL Eden
November 2 6:30pm Corner of Carlisle Avenue and Luxford Road Mt Druitt 
November 2 6:00pm Civic Park Newcastle 
November 2 6:00pm Town Hall Sydney
November 2  5:30pm Ngurra Hub Wagga Wagga
November 2 5:30pm MacCabe Park Wollongong
November 4 6:00pm Mirambeena Community Centre Lavington 

Victoria

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 6:00pm Alfred Deakin Place Ballarat
November 2 6:00pm Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative Geelong
November 2 6:00pm Portland Skate Park Portland 
November 2 6:00pm Aboriginal Advancement League Melbourne

Queensland

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 6:00pm King George Square Brisbane
November 2 7:00pm Cairns City Library Cairns 
November 2 10:00am Strand Rockpool Townsville

Northern Territory

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 5:30pm Rapid Creek Bridge Darwin
November 2 6:00pm Alice Springs Local Court Alice Springs 

ACT

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 6:00pm Aboriginal Tent Embassy Canberra

South Australia 

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2  3:30pm Victoria Square Adelaide 

Western Australia

Date Time Location City or Town
November 2 6:30pm Albany Town Hall  Albany
November 2 6:00pm Graham Bricknell Memorial Music Shell Bunbury
November 2 6:00pm Busselton Foreshore Amphitheatre & Stage  Busselton
November 2 3:30pm Broome Courthouse  Broome
November 2 5:00pm Gwoonwardu Mia  Carnarvon 
November 2 2:10pm Edith Cowan Square Geraldton 
November 2 12:30pm Forrest Place Perth
November 2 6:00pm Roebourne District High School’s Oval Roebourne 
November 2  10:00am Trilby Cooper Hostel Kalgoorlie
November 2  1:30pm Centenary Park Kellerberrin
November 2  6:30pm Lions Park Tom Price

Overseas 

Date Time Location City or Town
November 5 4:00pm LA State Historic Park Los Angeles 

If you want to learn more about this situation, you can follow Bundjalung woman and human rights advocate, Nessa Turnbull Roberts:

How You Can Support Cassius Turvey’s Family

Michelle Wighton, one of Turvey’s cousins, has set up a GoFundMe page on behalf of her family. As of November 2, this call for support has raised over $500,000.

“To every single person that has donated to our fundraiser, shared it and offered help: Thank you. Our family has been blown away by people’s generosity right around the country, and it has been comforting for us as we continue to grieve Cassius,” said Wighton.

“The funds raised will be used for the funeral and funeral related-expenses. In addition, they will be put towards legal costs (and a potentially costly legal battle) as our family continues to fight for justice for Cassius.”

Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.

Recent Posts

Exit mobile version