Photo by Johan Mouchet on Unsplash
On January 26th, Australians commemorate Australia Day, an anniversary of the 1788 landing of Britain’s first fleet. However, over the years, more Australians have shunned this holiday, with the day being termed as Invasion Day. This is so as January 26th marks the day British colonisation began, where indigenous groups in Australia suffered and were oppressed. The debate on whether such a day should be celebrated has gone on for years. On one end, it marks Australia’s history, and how far it has gone. On the other hand, many protest, arguing that it marked the start of a genocide, and is not worth celebrating. This article seeks to discuss how Australians should treat January 26th.
It is first worth considering that celebrating heritage is important for a country. January 26th is still a significant moment in Australia’s history. It is a day to celebrate how far Australia has come since it was first colonised over 200 years ago, and it allows people to celebrate Australia’s achievements and developments as a country. Australia’s rise to be one of the world’s leading economies, with great resources and standards of living is something the British had a role to play in. Hence, one may argue that there are benefits that have stemmed from the British’s colonisation, something worth reflecting upon and an event to celebrate the development of Australia. Moreover, some do argue that even when people celebrate Australia Day, they do not celebrate the genocide and institutionalised harm. Instead, they mostly celebrate being an Australian, and the achievements of Australia.
However, many of those who have gone to protest on the streets have claimed that Australia Day is a day where the British stole “Australia” from its rightful owners. Indigenous groups have termed it Invasion Day, because they had existed in Australia much earlier than the colonialists, as they had occupied the land for over 65,000 years and the British conquered the land without a treaty. Moreover, when the British came, they oppressed many of the indigenous population, with indigenous groups being killed and indigenous families broken up. To this day, some indigenous people believe it is not a country worth celebrating, because they believe colonisation has led to indigenous groups lagging behind in many social and economic indicators like healthcare and education. Hence, it is arguably something offensive and disrespectful to the indigenous population living in Australia. As such, many do argue for Australia Day to be commemorated on other days, like May 9th, the day when Australia became a self-governing federation. Another day considered was January 1st, a day for new hope and aspirations in Australia, and the day when the Commonwealth of Australia came into being in 1901.
In synthesis, though Australia Day does represent the start of oppression of the indigenous population, changing the exact day might not always change the feelings of resentment towards the invasion of the British. Unfortunately, I feel that no matter which date Australia’s national day anniversary is commemorated, these sentiments will always be prevalent. As such, instead of directing attention towards Australia Day, attention should be directed at giving more concrete aid to support indigenous groups. Efforts should instead be directed at reducing the inequality between indigenous groups and other Australians. One such effort is through Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s proposal to have an indigenous body to advise the federal government on policies for indigenous populations in Australia. Other similar efforts to better empower indigenous populations must be looked at.
In conclusion, conflict, protests and debates may ensue on whether January 26th should be termed as Australia Day or Invasion Day. Unfortunately, the fact remains that the suppression of indigenous population will always leave a mark on Australia’s history. At the end of the day, I believe the course of action would be to assuage these sentiments through continued empowerment and support for indigenous groups in Australia.
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