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A Voice to Parliament was years, if not decades, in the making.
In the end, it took barely hours for it to be shattered.
Not even an hour had passed after the first polls closed before the initial blow smashed into the Yes campaign's hopes — Tasmania voted No. Six minutes later, at just 7:03pm, NSW provided a monstrous crack.
Little over 20 minutes later, at 7:25pm on Saturday, October 14, 2023, the ABC's election analyst Antony Green called the time of death for the Voice — South Australia had voted No, the death knell for the Yes campaign.
The rest of the nation's states and the Northern Territory would soon follow. The nation's capital proved the only jurisdiction to vote in support of recognising Australia's First People in the constitution with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament.
And with that, it was over.
There was no plan B, no backup.
So what comes next?
In the immediate days that follow, there will be silence. Silence from Indigenous leaders who have entered a period of grieving.
There's no shortage of irony in the fact that after weeks — years — of white voices being some of the loudest and most toxic, they will again be the loudest in the aftermath. Especially with parliament returning for a sitting week only 48 hours later.
There's plenty of anger among First Nations leaders who've for years carried the weight on their shoulders, who faced racist attacks during the campaign, only to see their years of work be dismissed overnight.
Thomas Mayo, who said he was devastated, told the ABC that history would look poorly on opposition leader Peter Dutton and the No campaigners, who he accused of lying to the Australian people.
Academic Marcia Langton went further and dubbed reconciliation "dead", warned that it would be at least two decades before Australians were "capable of putting their colonial hatred behind them and acknowledging that we exist" and accused No campaigners of "poisoning" Australians against the Voice.
Other First Nations Australians say they are looking to the future in the hope of finding other ways to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
On that front, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney say they will put forward renewed commitments in the months ahead. Both insist reconciliation is not dead.
The political ramifications
This referendum will likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of untold stories about the toll it has taken on First Nations people, as we unpick what these results say about a nation that is home to 65,000 years of continuous culture.
There's no denying it will have political implications, too.
Politics was swift in returning to its predictably partisan ways (arguably it never stopped).
There was no hiding the smiles on Peter Dutton and shadow Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's faces last night. In the world of Realpolitik, they are coming out on top.
But they too have electoral concerns arising from the night's results. Strong Yes votes in Liberal heartland turned Teal independent seats further reinforce the electoral challenge Dutton and the Coalition face if they're to find a path back to government, something a Nationals MP turned independent (a defection that was the result of his former party's stance opposing the Voice) foreshadowed in the dying days of the referendum campaign.
In the meantime, the focus will shift to Dutton and how genuine he was in vowing to deliver "practical" outcomes to close the gap. His early comments last night shred the little hope there might have been for bi-partisanship.
He wants a royal commission into allegations of child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities and an audit of spending programs (many of which likely started under the Coalition, and yet this doesn't seem to rate a mention).
LoadingThe question for today
Albanese will seek to rally his troops when parliament returns next week. Labor's heartland clearly said No to the Voice.
Many of these same voters said No to same-sex marriage, yet unlike the Teal electorates, haven't turfed the party that has long represented them.
Questions will be asked about where it went so wrong. Despite riding high in the polls at the start of the year, voters resoundingly rejected the Voice — something for which Albanese will be left to answer. Campaign tactics and an inability to counter the No campaign, too, will require reflection.
Many in federal politics wonder what might come next for Albanese's close friend and political ally Linda Burney, the first woman to hold the Indigenous Australians portfolio. Few expect she will be pushed from her job but if she is to step back, Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy looks the likely heir apparent to replace her.
Prominent Yes campaigner Noel Pearson, reflecting on Indigenous people making up just 3 per cent of the population, forecasted that the 97 per cent would determine whether Australia's First People were recognised.
That recognition, at least for now, is No.
He also warned October 14 would bring with it a mirror, offering Australians the chance to "see ourselves like we never have before".
That mirror is today reflecting Australia. It's now for the public to look closely and see what that reflection tells us.