Halpin Hart was nine years old when he was stolen from his family in Katherine, in the Northern Territory.
It was another 20 years until he reconnected with his mother.
He would never know his father, who died when he was a child.
Mr Hart was first sent to the Retta Dixon Home in Darwin, a place he considers a "holding cell", before being sent to Croker Island and then across the country to a boys' home in Adelaide — a place he had no connection to.
His removal from family, culture, tradition and language is a pain he has carried with him his whole life.
But he said he has now found a sense of closure, albeit not thanks to the introduction of a National Sorry Day by advocacy groups in 1998, while John Howard was in power.
"Prime minister John Howard said it wasn't his responsibility as a government and it [the Stolen Generations] never happened," Mr Hart said.
"Well he didn't talk to us, because we know it happened."
Dr Eileen Cummings has a similar story.
She was taken from her home on a homestead at Mainoru Station, in the heart of Arnhem Land in the territory, in 1948.
She was two years old, and would not see her mother again for 15 years.
Dr Cummings has been behind the successful fights for the national redress, survivors reparations payments, class actions for deceased members of the Stolen Generations, as well as a class action over failed duty of care for children on missions.
"I feel that we have achieved something in the long run, but it took us a long time to get there."
She only just received an official letter of acknowledgement and apology from the federal government on Monday this week.
But she said there's still progress to be made.
"You can't achieve reconciliation … until Australia acknowledges its past history," she said.
"Until they really acknowledge and accept our history, nothing will ever change … because people still say it never happened.
"I think we need more education in that area".
Keeping history alive
On Friday, Mr Hart and Dr Cummings were part of a panel at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory of NT Stolen Generations survivors and descendants, who each emphasised the importance of keeping the conversation alive.
Descendant and panellist Aunty Barbara Nasir said while a lot has changed in 25 years, there is still more to be done in terms of reconciliation.
"We come from a history of pain. Descendants have to live with that, it doesn't go away, it stays with you for life," she said.
"[We lost] our culture, our heritage, our family. To try and access that and take that back is a very hard journey."
She's calling for a history centre to be established in the Northern Territory, to preserve the stories of the Stolen Generations.
"If you don't have a service like a history centre, how will the young people learn about the history, about their culture, about their mothers, their loved ones who were taken?" she said.
"With a history centre, you can look at the possibility of healing."
Descendant Charlie King, whose mother was removed, agreed.
"You can't hide history, it is what it is," he said.
He's been working on establishing a memorial for the children of the Kahlin compound.
"All we've got is graves now but we want a memorial where we can go, sit down, be peaceful, and have memories there," he said.
