Earlier this year, thousands of indigenous Australians and activist marched in major cities across Australia, arguing that January 26 shouldn’t be celebrated as its marks a day of mourning for many people. Thousands of Aboriginal people and activist protest in Melbourne arguing the date of Australia day must be altered.
A Sky News report revealed that several protests turned violent with an Australian flag set alight in Sydney and Melbourne, and protesters likening the day to the bombing of Hiroshima.
On January 26, 1788 the first fleet arrived, marking the beginning of genocide of the Aboriginal People. By 1935 all states came to acknowledge the colonisation of Australia, and January 26 became known as “Australia Day”.
However, leading up to the bicentenary of European colonisation in 1988 the term “Invasion Day” came into usage by Aboriginal people who questioned what was to celebrate about mass genocide. Since then protests have been held every year.
With Australia Day associated to celebrating genocide and the destruction of the Aboriginal culture, the government must consider altering the date of Australia Day out of respect for the Aboriginal People and to further assimilation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians, which in contrast to genocide, is something truly worth celebrating.
Before the arrival of the first fleet the Aboriginal people were free however, after the invasion the Aboriginal people were controlled by the Europeans, as displayed in
200 years is enough time to forgive. Wake up, everyone! We know the British came and stole Aboriginal landing, that was a huge crime but now our war ended, we live in our country named Australia and we are Australians, Australia Day is one of our tradition, Aboriginal’s failure won’t change despite we change the day. I am Lake, a Aborigine living and contributing for Australia and I will sorry to Melbourne citizens, especially who want to change the day that i honestly disagree.
Besides, as we have said above, it is a political protest in support of the rights of Australians natives, who have been suffering abuses and injustices since the XVIII century.
World War 1 (1914-1918) was the first official war that Australians took part in, only thirteen years after federating as a country in 1901. During this time, thousands of lives were lost, families were torn apart, and friends were never seen again. April 25th became the national day to commemorate the ANZAC soldiers who had served overseas. Even now, 100 years later, people still remember those who sacrificed themselves for Australia, those who fought and fell in many battles to protect the country they lived in. The Gallipoli Campaign is the most famous battle of World War 1, the battle that every Australian household knows about. However, other battles such as the ones on the
Firstly the change in legal and constitutional rights have been a great creator of rights for the Aboriginal people. Up until 1967 the Aboriginals did not have the right to be counted in the census. This was basically a way of saying that the Aboriginals were not Australians, almost not even people. Fortunately the 1967 referendum gave Aboriginals citizenship. It did however not end any discrimination against the Aboriginal people and
Australia day a day that marks a horrific anniversary for Indigenous Australian’s it is commonly known as Invasion day. Invasion day is the day that everything changed no longer were the indigenous people to live in peaceful family groups. Their peace and harmony was to be destroyed by European ideals. Invasion day or Survival day marked the beginning of years of struggle and loss for the indigenous people a battle that they still fight today. Colonization was a cultural wrecking ball when it came to the Australian indigenous and it began on Invasion
During the war the British soldiers looked up to the Australian soldiers because of their spirit. The Australian soldiers also looked up to the British soldiers and called England the Mother Country. Also the Australians liked to call themselves British. Lastly Britain bought a lot of Australia’s wheat to commemorate their war effort
For many January 26th is a day to celebrate Australia and the country it is today but the date is not marked for celebrations for all Australians. For many Aboriginal Australians January the 26th is referred to as ‘survival day’, ‘invasion day’ or the ‘day of mourning ‘it marks the day when the white settlers landed on Australian shores and devastated the lives of the indigenous people who had lived there for thousands of years. The aborigines say “for us it is a day of mourning. This day we lost our land, we lost our spirit culture and we lost our language.”
On Wednesday, the 26th January, 1938, a "day of mourning and protest" was proclaimed and Jack Patten, who chaired a meeting of the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), announced, "……. this being the 150th Anniversary of the White man's seizure of our country, [we] hereby make protest against the callous treatment of our people by the white men during the past 150 years, and we appeal to the Australian nation of today to make new laws for the education and care of Aborigines, we ask for a new policy which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community." This proclamation heralded the intention of the Aboriginal people to unite and protest against Government policies that resulted in Indigenous Australians
Australia day commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet on the 26th of January 1788. To some people, it means invasion day, but to others it was the birth of our great nation, and a time to celebrate a fair go.The issue of whether the date of Australia day should be changed has divided the Australian and Aboriginal community, which has caused a matter of intense debate over the years. Calla Wahlquist’s opinion piece, “Australia day: A guide to changing minds without ruining the barbecue” was written in The Guardian newspaper on the 25th of January 2018 Wahlquist argues that the date of Australia day should be changed, calling upon the general public (AUDIENCE). Wahlquist employs an assertive tone throughout her piece, through the use of positive, strong- willed words such as fair and inclusive, shows the reader that the author values her writing as well as exhibits confidence while maintaining respect.
Before the First Fleet, consisting of eleven ships, arrived in Botany Bay on the 26th of January 1788, it is known that there were approximately 750 000 Aboriginals living in Australia. Today there are only about 250 000 (Harding, 2001). They all made many, both positive and negative impacts on the Aboriginals. Whilst they brought several diseases which wiped out much of the population and kidnapped many Aboriginal people, the British also showed many technologies to the Native people and introduced them to the modern world.
Despite being one of the most devastating military losses for the allied forces during World War 1, for some reason it is considered one of the most important and celebrated holidays in Australian history. Why was this, that something that cost so many Australian lives, considered something to be celebrated and cheered on about. The answer of this will be explained after a basic background is established.
On Australia Day in 1972, Indigenous activists erected a beach umbrella on the lawns outside of Old Parliament House. They set this up to start a protest; they placed a sign that said “Embassy” to represent a displaced nation. The McMahon Liberal Government made a statement in which land rights were rejected in favour of 50-year leases to Aboriginal communities, the activists were against this and this was the reason that this protest started. The activists were repeatedly asked when the protest would end and they said that they would stay until Aboriginal Australians had land rights, which could be forever.
The Day of Mourning was a very significant event for Indigenous Australians. It was the first time that Aboriginal activist groups from all over Australia had fully participated. According to the Dictionary of Sydney, it was officially the first national Aboriginal civil rights amassing and represented the most clearly identifiable beginning of the contemporary Aboriginal political movement.
25th of April marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. Anzac Day also served to commemorate the lives of Australians who died in that war.
Australia Day 1972, four young Aboriginal men erected a beach umbrella on the lawns outside Parliament House in Canberra and put up a sign which read 'Aboriginal Embassy'. Over the following months, supporters of the embassy swelled to 2000. When the police violently dismantled the tents and television