Mossman resident Daphne Naden experienced the impacts of forced removals first-hand when several of her siblings were taken to the Daintree Mission in the 1960s on the basis of their lighter-coloured skin. 

Her two older sisters and younger brother's only chance to see their parents or the rest of the family were on Sundays at church, and that opportunity disappeared entirely after they were taken to Townsville when the mission closed in 1963.

She said when they returned as teenagers they were 'strangers' to their family and had lost much of their traditional skills, culture and knowledge.

"When they came back they really were strangers - even though Mum and Dad were the best parents you get," she said. 

"My younger brother used to call the mission mistress 'Mum' - I think that really impacted on him when we lost our mum."

Ms Naden said the impacts of forced removal reached across generations and had long-lasting effects on Indigenous mental health. 

"Think about a kidnapping - someone is forcibly removed from their parents as kids, you can imagine the trauma," she said. 

"How do they ever get over it if they are away from their parents for so long?

"There's not too much attention to the actual mental health and trauma at the time - that would impact the physical health and mental wellbeing."

Nevertheless Ms Naden said gestures like National Sorry Day and then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology for the Stolen Generations were important steps in healing the rift between Indigenous and European Australia.

"In a little town like this, we live separate lives, we don't interact much," she said. 

"But we're going to have changes where we're all going to become friends and be able to walk into each other's houses - that's where you're going to get true Australianship.

"To address some of these things you've got to talk about it, you can't just try to forget about it and move on."