Australia is a beautiful country, filled with many beautiful people descended from cultures all over the world. We've got unique and magnificent wildlife, we have an amazing array of wilderness - from beaches, deserts to tropical forests. And most importantly, Australia is home to the oldest living civilisation in the world, with continuous roots dating back tens of thousands of years.
The problem with Australia Day’s date, I think, does not get to the core of the issue because whilst the date itself makes the discrimination shockingly obvious, there is a problem in Australia of ONGOING under-aknowledgement of aboriginal culture as a core and central part of our rich history. In a standard ‘Australia day’ celebration for example - where are the original peoples of this land?? Is there a welcome to country? Is there acknowledgement of ANYTHING about our First Nation peoples at all? Unlikely. You're far more likely to see a sea of blue with Australia's flag plastered all over everything from paper plates to thongs and bathers. Notably missing, though, is the flag representing the original custodians of our land.
THAT is the problem with Australia Day no matter what date it is held on. Australia can no longer be synonymous with ‘British colony’. We are SO MUCH more than that. We cannot continue to ignore our vast and ancient history in celebrations of Australia. Aboriginal culture ought to be celebrated as centrally Australian, it shouldn’t be isolated from it or hidden in the background, the original custodians of this land shouldn’t STILL be discriminated against and swept under the rug. They’re STILL a huge part of what it means to be Australian and if you’re ignoring them this Australia Day then you might be part of the problem.
So, the issues won't end with a change of date, but it's a bloody good place to start.
So, the issues won't end with a change of date, but it's a bloody good place to start.
Where does the date come from anyway?
“Australia Day” the 26th of January does not mark the day the first fleet landed in Australia 1788 (that was spread out from the 18th of January to the 24th depending on sources); it marks something far more sinister - that was the day the British “colonists” held a celebration, a symbolic ceremony where they planted a flag and “founded” Australia at Sydney Cove (after moving the ships from Botany Bay). This wasn't celebrated annually though until 1818.
We should note that the violence and massacres we now associate with British ‘settlement’ in Australia did not begin that day in 1788; or even that year. This fact is often used as a point to excuse us continuing to use that date as a celebration of our nation. Proponents of keeping the date the same often make the shallow suggestion that because it is an important date of our history, there's nothing wrong with celebrating that 'foundation' event AS fundamentally Australian. But we cannot ignore what followed, and it could be argued that because it was Governor Lachlan Mcquarie who began celebrating "foundation day" in 1818 it actually does hold significant links to the massacres and horrific treatment of the Aboriginal Peoples all those years ago, as Mcquarie himself is credited with decreeing attacks on indigenous tribes (1816), and is recorded as stating "Such natives as happen to be killed on such occasions, if grown up men, are to be hanged up on Trees in Conspicuous Situations, to Strike the Survivors with the greater terror.” Such a man should not be the authority on how we celebrate Australia as a nation.
There are many things about Australia day that I have felt for a long time are much bigger issues than the date itself, but I no longer believe that you can change those other inherent issues without changing the date, or removing the celebration altogether. It's just too ingrained in our society that it is okay to ignore the continued discrimination of our indigenous culture; and it just simply isn't - so we need some drastic changes, we can't shift this without shaking Australians awake with a change of date.
How do Indigenous Peoples feel about Australia Day?
There is quite obviously a fundamental problem with ‘founding’ a country that already has a large population of people with a rich and ancient culture - in fact I can't stress enough that Australia hosts THE most ancient culture of human beings ON THE PLANET. This is why often protesters will suggest the day ACTUALLY represents 'Invasion day' and ought not be a celebration of Australian culture at all. It's time we stop allowing arrogance to dilute out our beautiful indigenous culture and pay attention to what Aboriginal People are telling us.
Did you know that Australia Day's celebrations back in 1938 was marked as a day of mourning by our indigenous folks and this protest is what led to the "invasion day" title. 1938!! And here we are over 80 years later and we still can't work out what's so offensive about celebrating a day that led to over 200 years of oppression and discrimination of our First Nations Peoples. There is still a big difference between how Australians and those who identified as Indigenous view the date of the day - with the results of a poll conducted for The Guardian showing that whilst Australians associate the date with the words "barbecue, celebration and holiday" among Indigenous people participating in the poll "the three most chosen words were invasion, survival and murder"
People who advocate for Australia day's date to remain the 26th of January are strikingly similar as those folks who continue to climb Uluru even though it is deeply offensive to indigenous culture and even though Aboriginal Australians have been pleading with tourists not to climb since the handback of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in 1985. This is a symbolic comparison because for so long we have continued to do whatever we like using the arrogance of our numbers, including quite literally stamping all over the oldest living civilisation on the planet. It is about time indigenous peoples were heard and respected, understood and celebrated. I'm so enormously glad that we've finally decided that climbing Uluru is to be banned outright from October this year. I am hopeful that this marks another groundbreaking shift in the way we think about indigenous Australians and the continued impact of their oppression in Australia.
Even though the poll mentioned above revealed that only 15% of participating Australians want the date changed, it's important to remember that the Majority should not always be the authority. When a genocide has occurred, it is no longer appropriate to rely on polling to decide what a nation should do about events, dates, or monuments that are directly related to that genocide. Of course the majority of Australians feel positively or indifferent about the date of Australia day, early 'settlers' of Australia made sure that our indigenous Australians are a minority in this country, they made sure their voices were silenced - that's what a genocide does. It is our responsibility as current Australians to reflect on that, and on all the damage we have caused to indigenous culture and to make steps towards reconciliation and correcting the discrimination. It's time for our country to grow up and respect our First Nations Peoples - their voices, their cultures, their opinions. And the majority of them want the date changed. So, in the same vein as our national opinions on climbing Uluru changed to respect indigenous culture, our national opinion on the celebrations surrounding 26th of January ought to be influenced by those who may be harmed by it. This would be a fantastic way to set up a generation of Australians that are founded on respect, not on bullying people out of the conversation with the old "majority rules" idea when such a vote doesn't look into the bigger picture and the historical significance of the matter.
Besides, a change of date is a very small sacrifice to make to ensure our indigenous people feel heard and respected.
But what can I as an individual do?
Marked with the hopelessness of a country that doesn't understand the impact - I have fallen into the trap of 'well, it's a public holiday anyway so might as well enjoy it'. There's no shame in this, we're all learning together. But, your voice DOES matter. It always matters, whatever issue you're discussing - try to add your voice to the side calling for respect and compassion; not the side causing offense; your voice is a powerful thing, so use it. Self reflect on your ideas and behaviour, even though it's hard. Ask yourself why are you doing the things you're doing? why are you saying the things you're saying? Is it self-serving or is it in the interests of our whole community? This survival day, have one or two conversations with people around you as to why you don't think Australia Day should be on this date; share an article like this on your social media; attend an event like this one that celebrates indigenous culture, instead of falling into the beer and barbecue trap.
I dream of a day when a celebration of our nation involves a richness, when it is something all our people can enjoy, and something we can learn and grow from - not something shallow and bleak.
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