Being brave rather than perfect became a theme at a public event in Shepparton early this month.

The Door Bells, a migrant women’s network here in Greater Shepparton, staged its annual event embracing the ideas of courage, bravery and holding the door open for those following.

The emergent theme of being brave rather than perfect seemed prescient considering the events at Sydney’s Bondi Beach where many died and an unarmed Ahmed al-Ahmed bravely disarmed one of the shooters.

That was bravery and courage of a type rarely seen.

Ahmed’s bravery was there for all to see, but the bravery and courage at The Door Bells event was not so obvious, more nuanced and yet, in its own way, equally as important as what was witnessed at Bondi.

The speakers at the La Trobe University event could not be hailed as heroes for saving lives, well not directly and measurably, as we saw at Bondi.

However, their actions in coming to Australia, learning to live in a different culture, even though mystified by the local language, and opening doors to worlds they didn’t understand, demanded a bravery exceeding the understanding of most.

Opening those doors, walking through and holding them open for others was an act of bravery, courage that allowed a better life for them, those around them and, importantly, the broader community.

The bravery witness at Bondi was largely spontaneous and, although not diminishing that courage in any way, it was wholly different from the considered courage outlined at La Trobe earlier this month.

Millions of people watched bravery in action at Bondi, about 60 people heard a different sort of bravery when some of the Door Bell’s members told their stories.

The question of bravery, brought to our attention by The Door Bells and then emphasised by events at Bondi, has also been addressed by The Australia Institute.

The book, A Time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage? has just been released.

Many well-known Australians have contributed to the book, which has been edited by Anna Change and Alice Grundy, and promotional blurb says: “We are living at a critical point in history with the stubborn problems of rising inequality, rising fossil fuel production, and declining faith in democracy.”

It adds: “There is bravery out there right now, in Australia and around the world. And Australian history is full of acts of individual and collective bravery ranging from the campaign to end apartheid in South Africa to the campaign for equal rights for same sex couples: from the green bans in Sydney's Rocks to South Australia’s commitment to 100 per cent renewable energy. We have changed ourselves and the world before; if we are brave, we can do so again.”

Yes, navigating the next few decades here in Shepparton will most certainly see the brave come to the fore, equipped with bold, expansive and athletic thinking, and actions, for the ideas and processes that once worked will be irrelevant in a future quite unlike anything we knew or experienced.

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Thursday, 18th September 2025

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