Sorry for the long post but I think this is a subject worthy of discussion and some background, albeit long background, is appropriate.
January 26th is Australia Day, coincidentally India Republic Day, and for many indigenous Australians Invasion Day.
A brief history of the date from various interweb sources:
As we know on January 26th, 1788 Capt. Arthur Phillip, in charge of a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts, established a colony in what would become Australia.
January 26th was not celebrated nationwide until 1994. There was the rum rebellion in 1808 but otherwise January 26th had no special meaning. In part at least because January 26th was seen as the establishment of New South Wales and not significant to other states as they came into being. Tasmania held Regatta Day in December to mark the anniversary of the landing of Abel Tasman. South Australia had Proclamation Day on December 28th and Western Australia had Foundation Day on June 1st.
In 1888 all states except South Australia celebrated Anniversary Day. South Australia followed suit in 1910 as Foundation Day which took the place of Accession Day which was January 22nd which recognised the accession to the throne of King Edward VII who died in 1910.
The first Australia Day was established in 1915 as a response to Australia’s involvement in the war to end all wars, part 1. The date chosen was July 30th. It was held in following years to 1918 in July though the actual day varied.
Victoria adopted January 26th as Australia Day in 1931 and by 1935 all states were celebrating January 26th though it was still known as Foundation Day and/or Anniversary Day in part.
In 1994 all states and territories agreed to establish a public holiday on January 26th and celebrate this date as Australia Day.
For Indigenous Australians January 26th holds a different meaning as the date when their land and ancient culture was affected by British colonisation. In something like 140 years there have been over 300 massacres of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders documented. Unknown others likely occurred with overall many thousands of people killed.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders seem to agree that it is appropriate to celebrate our nation and the contributions of all Australians by connecting as family, friends and community as long as we do so with respect and understanding to recognise our cultural diversity and heritage. The problem for our Indigenous Australians is the date.
For a number of years there has been a movement to change the date, what are the options?
January 1st marks the Federation of Australia but coincides with New Year’s Day,
January 19th is a made up date based on Federation in 01/01/1901,
March 3rd, Independence Day to mark the enacting of the Australia Act in 1986,
April 25th, Anzac Day,
May 8th, a bit of bullshit to make a date from ‘maaaate’ and the day before the opening of Federal parliament on May 9th,
May 9th, Federal parliament opening in Canberra,
May 27th, Anniversary of the 1967 referendum which allowed for Indigenous Australians to be included in the national census (and other),
July 9th, the date when Queen Victoria accepted the Constitution of Australia
September 1st, Wattle day, first day of spring…,
October 24th, Tenterfield Oration day when Sir Henry Parkes gave his speech at Tenterfield which set the course for federation,
December 3rd, Eureka Stockade uprising in 1854,
And one I thought of which is the day when Capt. Cook and the Bama people reconciled their differences on July 19th, 1770. The Bama people wanted Cook to return the female turtles they had caught to the wild but Cook misinterpreted this as the locals wanting to take all the turtles and fish that Cook’s crew had caught. One local was shot and spears were thrown but eventually the parties reconciled their differences and Reconciliation Rocks in Cooktown marks the spot where Cook and the Bama people sat together again.
What are your thoughts?
January 26th is Australia Day, coincidentally India Republic Day, and for many indigenous Australians Invasion Day.
A brief history of the date from various interweb sources:
As we know on January 26th, 1788 Capt. Arthur Phillip, in charge of a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts, established a colony in what would become Australia.
January 26th was not celebrated nationwide until 1994. There was the rum rebellion in 1808 but otherwise January 26th had no special meaning. In part at least because January 26th was seen as the establishment of New South Wales and not significant to other states as they came into being. Tasmania held Regatta Day in December to mark the anniversary of the landing of Abel Tasman. South Australia had Proclamation Day on December 28th and Western Australia had Foundation Day on June 1st.
In 1888 all states except South Australia celebrated Anniversary Day. South Australia followed suit in 1910 as Foundation Day which took the place of Accession Day which was January 22nd which recognised the accession to the throne of King Edward VII who died in 1910.
The first Australia Day was established in 1915 as a response to Australia’s involvement in the war to end all wars, part 1. The date chosen was July 30th. It was held in following years to 1918 in July though the actual day varied.
Victoria adopted January 26th as Australia Day in 1931 and by 1935 all states were celebrating January 26th though it was still known as Foundation Day and/or Anniversary Day in part.
In 1994 all states and territories agreed to establish a public holiday on January 26th and celebrate this date as Australia Day.
For Indigenous Australians January 26th holds a different meaning as the date when their land and ancient culture was affected by British colonisation. In something like 140 years there have been over 300 massacres of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders documented. Unknown others likely occurred with overall many thousands of people killed.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders seem to agree that it is appropriate to celebrate our nation and the contributions of all Australians by connecting as family, friends and community as long as we do so with respect and understanding to recognise our cultural diversity and heritage. The problem for our Indigenous Australians is the date.
For a number of years there has been a movement to change the date, what are the options?
January 1st marks the Federation of Australia but coincides with New Year’s Day,
January 19th is a made up date based on Federation in 01/01/1901,
March 3rd, Independence Day to mark the enacting of the Australia Act in 1986,
April 25th, Anzac Day,
May 8th, a bit of bullshit to make a date from ‘maaaate’ and the day before the opening of Federal parliament on May 9th,
May 9th, Federal parliament opening in Canberra,
May 27th, Anniversary of the 1967 referendum which allowed for Indigenous Australians to be included in the national census (and other),
July 9th, the date when Queen Victoria accepted the Constitution of Australia
September 1st, Wattle day, first day of spring…,
October 24th, Tenterfield Oration day when Sir Henry Parkes gave his speech at Tenterfield which set the course for federation,
December 3rd, Eureka Stockade uprising in 1854,
And one I thought of which is the day when Capt. Cook and the Bama people reconciled their differences on July 19th, 1770. The Bama people wanted Cook to return the female turtles they had caught to the wild but Cook misinterpreted this as the locals wanting to take all the turtles and fish that Cook’s crew had caught. One local was shot and spears were thrown but eventually the parties reconciled their differences and Reconciliation Rocks in Cooktown marks the spot where Cook and the Bama people sat together again.
What are your thoughts?
