General Discussions

[DJC]

Baggers what occurred on the 1st of January 1901 stemmed from the happenings in the period between that date and 26th January 1788, there is no changing what occurred. As Lods said in reply #1351, its about how we celebrate it, the thoughts behind it and the learnings from it to ensure we are (or become) be better humans.

In fact 26 Jan 1788 is just one small step in the process that led to the establishment of the Australian nation on 1 Jan 1901.  The arrival and successful colonisation of the continent by the first Australians 60-odd thousand years ago, the occupation of the Torres Strait islands by Melanesians around 8,000 years ago, the trading and trepanging voyages of the Macassans and the exploratory expeditions of the Dutch, French, Portuguese and English in the last 3-400 years are equally if not more important.

Then there’s the establishment of the free, non-convict, colonies in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia … and those States refused to celebrate NSW’s foundation day as Australia Day for well over 100 years, longer in fact than Australia Day has been celebrated on 26 Jan.

The real “Australia Day” is 1 Jan … but we already have a public holiday and, as a nation, we’re not mature enough to celebrate our nationhood after a night watching fireworks ?

Governor Phillips’ instructions haven’t been found but there is a copy of a draft (or draught as it’s spelt).  It makes interesting reading, particularly the references to “Savages”, the use of force, and the assertion that the eastern part of the continent, from Cape York to South Cape,  was already an English possession, courtesy of James Cook’s actions 20 years previously.

The instruction to address the male-female imbalance by procuring females from neighbouring islands is interesting, if not directly relevant to the Australia Day debate.

Arthur Phillip fell out of a window of his house in Bath and died from the injuries he received.  He is buried in a churchyard on the outskirts of Bath and the church has a memorial to him.  I went there to pay my respects to a bloke who did a pretty good job under difficult circumstances … but he didn’t take possession of Australia or establish our nation.  He established a penal colony and worked hard to minimise harm to the Savages, or the Eora people as they prefer to be known.  However, Phillip set in motion a process that led to the dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, loss of language and culture and dramatic loss of life.

Estimates of the Aboriginal population of Victoria at the beginning of the 19th century vary considerably; from 25,000 to 100,000 or more.  What is indisputable is that by the end of the 19th century, the Aboriginal population was less than 800.  That’s as close as you get to genocide without actually achieving it.

Why not let Indigenous Australians commemorate invasion day and find a better day to celebrate an inclusive Australia? I march proudly on ANZAC Day to commemorate those who have served our nation but Indigenous Australians are told to get over the invasion of their land.