Rallies and Vigils for Cassius Turvey — The Latch

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

Victoria

Queensland

Northern Territory

ACT

South Australia 

Western Australia

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

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