On this day in 1788 the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived at Sydney Cove.
While the arrival has been marked in various ways in the past, since 1994, this date has officially marked the national holiday known as ‘Australia Day’. A National Day of celebration which incorporates Australian of the Year and Order of Australia awards (in Civil and Military Divisions), citizenship and affirmation ceremonies. Numerous localised events aimed at bringing Australians together to “celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian” are also hosted. Australia’s national flag, featuring the Union Jack, as well as the national sporting colours of green and gold, are prominent features in Australia Day celebrations. In advertising and the media, so are BBQs, lamb, vegemite, backyard cricket, surfing, swimming, national land marks, native fauna, and fireworks.
From 2014 – 2017 the annual ‘Australia Day Your Way’ digital time capsule initiative has seen Australians encouraged to tweet images in conjunction with the hashtag #AustraliaDay, to illustrate the way citizens choose to mark the day. This promotion of a specific hashtag, during the observance of national holiday aligned with the date of arrival of the British first fleet, and the subsequent colonisation of Australia, represents a very specific cultural narrative. While the officially sanctioned narrative is one of celebration and geniality, for indigenous Australians, it marks the beginning of 220+ years of dispossession. Australia is the only commonwealth nation that does not have a treaty with its indigenous people. In declining a nomination for an Australian of the year honour, Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell specified that for him, Australia Day marks ‘the coming of one race at the expense of another.’
In recent months calls to change the date have been growing and I note the The Australia Day You Way time capsule is conspicuously absent from this year’s promotions. In fact, when I tried to reach it at www.your.australiaday.org.au I received a 404 Not Found error.
Are we as a Nation starting to realise that the events surrounding this date, January 26th, are not something all of us feel proud to celebrate?