26/01/2021
On 26 January 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip raised the flag of Great Britain and proclaimed a colonial outpost in Sydney Cove, the sovereign lands of the Eora Nation. This act commenced the invasion by British colonisers of lands already owned across the continent. A continent that was home to over 250 individual, sovereign nations, inter-connected by trade, sharing knowledge, cultural values and spirituality.
The date marks the start of the Frontier Wars, a period of armed conflict between settlers and Australia’s First Peoples that lasted at least until the Coniston massacre in 1928 (arguably even later). It was a period of dispossession, oppression, acts of violence and the spread of disease.
Since 26 January 1788, the way of life of Australia’s First Peoples has continually come under threat, and families and communities have been fighting to protect their country, people, culture and history.
After all it was not until 1935 that all Australian States adopted the term Australian Day, it has only been celebrated officially as a national public holiday since 1994, and numerous other dates have been celebrated in the past.
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the date is a reminder of the pain and suffering of their ancestors, the invasion of their lands and enormous loss of life in the Frontier Wars, the massacres, and the intergenerational trauma that comes with that history.
And yet - Resistance, resilience and survival have been hallmarks of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander response to this invasion.
Rethink your celebration on this day, listen, learn and connect. This is your country too please educate yourself about the history on the lands of which you live.
