Happy Australia Day 2019 everybody! Or should I say, “Happy Invasion Day”? No, I shouldn’t,
because modern-day Australia Day has nothing to do with the “invasion” of Australia.
That’s a label that has been placed on Australia Day by Indigenous Australians, and people
sympathetic to their cause, to try to make normal Aussies feel guilty about something
that we had absolutely nothing to do with.
A quick history lesson first. Back in early 1788, a fleet of 11 British ships, under the
command of Captain Arthur Phillip, arrived in New Holland (modern-day Australia) seeking
to establish a penal colony on the east coast of New South Wales. After a few days of deciding
on a suitable landing location, on 25 January 1788, HMS Supply anchored in Sydney Cove carrying
Captain Arthur Phillip, Philip Gidley King (the third Governor of New South Wales), some
Royal Marines, and about 40 convicts.
Early in the morning of the next day, 26 January 1788, Phillip along with a few dozen marines,
officers and oarsmen, rowed ashore and took possession of the land in the name of King
George III. The remainder of the ship's crew and convicts watched from on board HMS Supply.
The actual founding of the Colony of New South Wales didn’t actually occur until 7 February
1788, when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship
were read out.
But the 26 January had no significant or official meaning in the early years of New South Wales.
It wasn’t until 1808 that some of the colony’s immigrants started to recognise the day in
order to “celebrate their love of the land they lived in” with “drinking and merriment”.
It wasn’t until 1935 that all states of Australia were celebrating 26 January as Australia
Day (although, it was known as Anniversary Day in New South Wales). It wasn’t until
1994 that all states and territories officially began to celebrate Australia Day consistently
as a public holiday on that date. So Australia Day, as we know it, is a fairly modern occurrence.
So what do typical Aussies do on Australia Day? Well, I usually take my family up to
the local park where the council hand out free watermelon, damper, lamingtons, and snow
cones, and offer a free sausage sizzle for lunch. My kids love it, as do many other kids.
Formal events include Australian citizenship ceremonies, and Australia Day awards to people
who have helped out the community throughout the year. There is certainly no celebration
of the “invasion” of Australia.
So should we change the date to suit the minority? Well, first of all, what’s in a date? Does
the actual date of Australia Day matter? I would say, no, the actual date has no bearing
on the celebrations. A date simply represents a number in the Gregorian calendar to indicate
the angle of the sun in the sky at a particular time of the year. Indigenous Australians had
no knowledge of the Gregorian calendar when the first fleet arrived, so why has the date
become so important to them?
Is it the actual date that Indigenous Australians loathe, or is it the celebrations themselves?
If we did change the date, just say to the 27 January for argument’s sake, would that
fix anything? Would that improve all the hardships that Indigenous Australians face on a daily
basis? Shorter life expectancy. Higher rates of infant mortality. Poorer health. Lower
levels of education and employment. Higher rates of incarceration. Higher rates of alcohol
abuse and domestic violence. No, changing the date of Australia Day would have no bearing
on actually helping Indigenous Australians. It’s a symbolic gesture at best. People
would still be going out to the park to have a BBQ, and to eat watermelon. People would
still be gobbling down sausages and celebrating the diversity of Australia. Changing the date
would do nothing.
If it’s Australia Day itself that Indigenous Australians don’t agree with, then surely
they must call for the abolishment of Australia Day. Changing the date doesn’t change history.
Changing the date doesn’t stop people celebrating. But to be fair, modern-day Australians aren’t
celebrating the dark history of Australia. Modern-day Australians are celebrating…
modern-day Australia! I don’t know anybody who goes around commemorating the raising
of the flag at Sydney Cove more than 230 years ago. And if they do, they certainly are the
minority. Everyone I know either sits at home enjoying the public holiday, or they go out
with their family and eat snow cones and fairy floss. The “invasion” of Australia does
not cross their minds.
But that’s not to say that I’m against a date change, and I’m certainly not against
the plight of Indigenous Australians. Whether or not Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January
or the 27th, does not affect me in any meaningful way. My kids wouldn’t care what date it
was celebrated on, as long as they could go to the park and eat some damper and some
watermelon.
The date is unimportant to me, so who am I to dictate which date we should celebrate
it on? If it truly means that much to the average Indigenous Australian that we change
the date, then I’m happy to change it. I don’t think it will achieve anything, but
if it keeps everyone happy and keeps Australia peaceful, then I’m all for it.
But sadly, I don’t have the power to change the date of Australia Day, and nor does anybody
else. Certainly, we’d have to have some kind of national referendum to officially
change the date. Ultimately, it would come down to a public vote. If the majority agree
that we should change it, then so be it. But on the other hand, if most Australians disagree
with a date change, then Indigenous Australians would have to accept that fact and accept
that 26 January is an important date to modern- day Australians.
Personally, I think Indigenous Australians should be focusing their efforts elsewhere.
Celebrating Australia Day on 26 January does not really hurt anybody. Changing the date
will not fix Indigenous disadvantage. Indigenous education and employment is a real issue.
Indigenous health and alcohol abuse is a real issue. Surely, we should be focusing our efforts
on those issues and not wasting our time with trivial pursuits such as the changing of a
date.
But then who am I? I’m just a guy on YouTube. Whether I agree with the date change or not,
doesn’t change the reality. Today is Australia Day. I will be going to the park with my friends
and family and eating watermelon and damper. There will be people there celebrating their
newly gained Australian citizenship. There will be people there celebrating the diversity
of modern-day Australia. The kids will be running around, laughing, and having fun.
The new Australian citizens will be grinning from ear to ear. There’s nothing bad about
the celebrations being held today. So how about instead of focusing on a dark past,
we instead look forward to a bright future where we all look out for one another. Because,
we’re all Australians — Indigenous, or otherwise.
Enjoy the festivities.