Happy Australia Day: Celebration of a nation?

This year Australia’s national day celebrations have been pared back as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. (Are we going to update that number with every subsequent year the pandemic remains? The number seems to be mocking our ineptitude to deal with it quickly and efficiently, doesn’t it?)

As a result, most of the events centred around Sydney Harbour have been cancelled and all other events are ticketed, with audience numbers restricted and we are urged to watch them at home on our televisions.

Interestingly, the first event of the day has been held at Barangaroo – the new precinct that has been developed on what were dock wharves previously known as the ‘Hungry Mile.’ It was there, during depressed times, unemployed men, often with malnourished families, could find the odd day’s work, hence the name.

It’s sad that the history behind the name ‘Hungry Mile’ will lapse into relative obscurity with the name change but, more fittingly, the precinct was named after an Aboriginal woman who was a leader in her community and tribe – celebrating a more ancient history of our ‘First People.’

The event is a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony and, to me, it symbolises that Australia is moving further into the appropriate recognition of our First People. But is it really appropriate that Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January? Is this the victor’s insensitivity running rampant – or do we just not care?

What’s in a name?

In Australia we call our national day ‘Australia Day’ – we celebrate Australia alone. In most other comparable countries, national days celebrate a symbol of nation, not the nation itself; such as a watershed event or a prominent person.

In the United States of America, it’s Independence Day, in Wales (the country of my birth) we celebrate St. David’s Day, our patron Saint, as do Ireland with St. Patrick. Scotland and England also have Saints’ days but they seem not to be as prominent in the national psyche. By far the most prominent national day in the UK is the Queen’s Birthday.

In Australia, we don’t have ancient saints with whom to identify, nor do we have a royal family (although there is a national holiday for the Queen’s Birthday here – although not in the UK. Go figure.) but we do have a watershed event that 26 January symbolises – we just don’t like to mention it.

It happened in 1788 when on 26 January the First Fleet (from England) landed on the shores of Botany Bay when, despite evidence to the contrary, Australia was declared Terra Nullis – an empty land.

Invasion day: Let’s not celebrate carnage

In the years that followed, white man set about to wipe the Australian Aboriginal off the pages of history (and create the Terra Nullis that never was) both metaphorically and actually.

The atrocities committed against these people (that were not supposed to be here) were shocking and sustained. They managed in Tasmania within the first 100 years to wipe out the indigenous population and although Aboriginal numbers were severely depleted elsewhere, the efforts were not entirely successful – but we did make them beggars in their own land and only agreed to allow them voting rights in 1962 – akin to letting someone play with their own ball.

So, under the circumstances, that many consider ‘Australia Day’ to be ‘Invasion Day’ is understandable, especially if it was your ancestors that were deemed to be nobody and then slaughtered in their tens of thousands – often for sport. But the government couldn’t call it that, could it? Although no event is mentioned, a significant one is at its foundation.

Now, I know many will argue that you can’t change the past – what’s done is done and many still refuse to take responsibility for the carnage – my family wasn’t here until 1968, for example, so how could it be our fault? But that stance is insensitive to two realities.

Firstly, collective responsibility: if you are the recipient of the benefits of events that happened before you came on the scene, then you are equally culpable. If the white man had not invaded Australia and settled it, you wouldn’t be living the good life in what many Australian’s feel is ‘God’s own country,’ now would you? It should never have been yours but it is. Serendipity? No, you live on stolen land where the blood of the murdered original landowners stains the ground.  

Secondly, while I think that celebration of nation is a fine thing and necessary for nation-building, to celebrate on such a date is grossly insensitive. In effect what we’re saying is
“We came and took your land, declared you to be nobodies and slaughtered you and now we have abundance. We shouldn’t have benefitted from our actions, but we did and we’re proud of it – learn to live with it.”

Change the date (for goodness sake)

There are many people advocating for a change of date for the national day,  including our former Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull. He gets it – he feels we should pick an event that’s significant for our nation and celebrate the event and how can we celebrate an illegal invasion.

Unfortunately he wants it to be something to do with a republic – which we’re not and who knows when or whether that will ever happen. We need to change the date NOW.

We do have a significant date of January 1, 1901 when Australia federated and became a nation of states – maybe that would be appropriate (and certainly less offensive.) We can’t change the past but we can stop gloating at our good fortune at someone else’s expense.

Come on Prime Minister Morrison: act. A change of date would hurt no one.