16/10/2025
Never forgotten
A living memorial: 50 years later, commemorating the Balibo Five makes a real
difference.
Over the next week the Balibo House Trust will hold events in Timor-Leste and Australia to
mark the 50-year anniversary of the deaths of the Balibo Five on 16 October 1975 and
reflect on how their ongoing legacy has enriched the lives and livelihoods of the Balibo
community.
The Balibo House Trust was established soon after Timor-Leste’s independence to
commemorate the murder of the Balibo Five by Indonesian special forces and the
subsequent murder of Roger East.
Through the anniversary commemorations the Australian community will be reminded of the
wider story of Timor-Leste, its long struggle for independence, and Australia’s role in that
struggle.
The commemoration of the Balibo Five and the work of the Balibo House Trust goes
further, however.
From neglect and persecution under occupation, the community of Balibo is strengthened
to be better able to play their part in the still evolving and growing nation of Timor-Leste.
The Trust and its partners work with the community of the Balibo sub-district to help
improve their lives through practical measures. Through education, health care, social
enterprise, clean water and cultural remembrance, the work of the Trust makes a real
difference to the lives of thousands of people in the Balibo community.
This work is a living memorial to the Balibo Five and Roger East and shows that loss can
be overcome by building and sharing, that from tragedy can arise positive outcomes.
This work also builds and strengthens community bonds in Australia, between the Trust and
its partners and with the many other people the Trust has the privilege of working with.
The Trust’s work is all about people. It ‘builds links, family to family and community to
community,’ Trust Chair John Milkins said. ‘It is about sharing what makes us human’.
15 October 2025 email: [email protected]
