Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter at the Sydney Opera House: ‘Walking Into Doors’

On 24 October 1993, Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter performed an outdoor concert to a big crowd on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. The concert was part of the celebrations for the Opera House's 20th anniversary.

Switching between multiple camera shots provides visual interest to their performance of this poignant song about domestic violence. The sound quality is exceptional for an outdoor recording.

Archie often shines a light on subjects that can be difficult to talk about, like stories of the Stolen Generations in 'Took the Children Away', alcoholism and homelessness in 'Charcoal Lane' and 'Down City Streets' (written by Ruby), and racism and injustice in 'Louis St John'. This song is no different.

As always, his intention isn't to educate but to honour an experience or a truth, and this song is a great example of that. Archie's respect for his audience, as evidenced by his truth-telling, is one of the reasons why he has such a close relationship with his fans.

Notes by Beth Taylor and Adam Blackshaw