January 26th is Australia Day, a national holiday in Australia that commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788. It is a day to celebrate Australian history, culture, and achievements. This is what you read when you check some media articles.
Australia Day has been a topic of debate and discussion in recent years, with calls for a more inclusive national day that recognizes the perspectives and experiences of all Australians, including Indigenous peoples. There have been discussions about changing the date of Australia Day to a more culturally sensitive day that can be celebrated by all Australians.
These are few historical dates. most Australians or anti Australians are not aware of.
The first documented landing on Australia by a European was in 1606. The Dutch explorer Willem Jansz landed on the western side of Cape York Peninsula and charted about 300 km of coastline. Willem Jansz and his crew of the Duyfken made history in 1606 by being the first recorded Europeans to set foot on Australian soil at the Pennefather River on Cape York Peninsula. Ten years later, Dirk Hartog discovered and mapped a stretch of the Western Australian
On Sunday 29th April 1770, Captain Cook and his crew arrived at Botany Bay. They didn’t set up a land based camp and remained on board their ship. They fished, explored, found water and botanised.
The First Fleet originally arrived in Australia at Botany Bay on January 18, 1788.
On this day 20 January 1788 the last of the eleven ships of the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay. Captain Arthur Phillip’s search for a more suitable site led him to Port Jackson. The rest of the fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour on 26 January.
Two French ships commanded by Jean-Francois de Galaup, Comte de la Perouse, arrived on 24 January 1788, as the First Fleet was setting sail for Port Jackson. Seven weeks later his ships, L’ Astrolabe and La Boussole, sailed out of Botany Bay, and La Perouse was never heard from again.
The First Fleet of 11 ships, commanded by Captain Arthur Phillip, set up a convict settlement at Sydney Cove (now Circular Quay) on 26 January 1788, and no one was killed or invaded anyone.
February 7, 1788 was the day formal proclamation of the first State, then the colony of NSW, was read out. Hardly a day that meets a national purpose.
In April 1788, almost three months after the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove, convict Francis Fowkes produced an annotated sketch map of the colony. It shows the settlement developing around the Cove and what became known as the Tank Stream.
It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who suggested the name we use today. He was the first to circumnavigate the continent in 1803, and used the name ‘Australia‘ to describe the continent on a hand drawn map in 1804.
January 1, 1901, was when the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. This is a day that could be celebrated as it involves all States and Territories, although the Constitution at that time did not provide for our Indigenous community to be recognised and counted in any census that was conducted. So not inclusive of all Australians.
January 26, 1948 saw the proclamation of The Nationality and Citizenship Act which created Australian citizenship for the first time. Up until then we had only been British nationals.
The referendum of May 27, 1967 was passed by 90.77 per cent of Australia’s population that allowed for the counting of Indigenous peoples. For the first time we were one community.
On March 3, 1986 the Australia Act came into force being the final step in Australia’s constitutional independence from United Kingdom.
Australia was free land mass, which was settled by Kangaroos by millions of years, all others came from somewhere else. its is the British finally setup as Convict colony and developed it. Whoever was earlier were fought and killed each other for free resources, some called natural resources, mounds, mountains, rocks and Rivers as their sacred monuments without building anything their own.
All credits goes to Europeans who developed this great nation, if anyone is opposing January 26th as national day then, they are not aware of the the countries history and influenced by vested interests, Media or Politicians.
One independent country, one people regardless of where and when we arrived. Almost half of the population of Australia arrived/settled after 1900 and has noting to do with 1788 date nor they are responsible what had happened then.
so 26th January is day of Celebration, as we Australians done for a century and here to stay. Australia Day goes to who built it, contributed and died for it to develop, not who living on benefits of builders and Tax payers.
LONG LIVE AUSTRALIA DAY, 26TH JANUARY.