Happy Australia day !!!!
Yes Australia day might not make as much sense if we were a republic, then we would most likely celebrate an independence type day.
But seeing we are not a republic, the most Aussie thing to do is have a public holiday anyway and celebrate all the positives of this great nation since re-settlment.
If people don't like Australia day or don't want to celebrate its pretty simple you don't have to celebrate and if you don't want the day off, maybe even ask your boss if you can still come in and work, im sure there is some odd jobs he could find for you.
But with 365 days of the year, and many of them pertaining to the nation's creation (Federation, Eureka) etc etc, why celebrate it on such a divisive day?
The day we became an English colony.
Seems odd that people are so proud of it and adamant to keep it.
Probably less about misplaced loyalty to the British and more about culture war. It's easy to peg anyone who contends the matter as an SJW and ridicule them, hence a favourite topic of Chris Kenny and the News Ltd crew.
In summary of I-D's top of the page post.
Australia Day; love it or leave it.
Of course , Stu.
But any alternative future day celebrating Australia will be just be reduced to a celebration of pre First fleet arrival and post commencement of multiculturalism. The intervening years of establishment of modern Australia will be swept under the carpet at best and continuously viewed with utmost shame , at worst.
So a new day will actually be exclusionary towards the massive and fundamental contributions made by the initial settlers. Which is completely inappropriate. The pendulum in accounting for the developmental history of modern Australia has swung way too far towards discrediting the first non indigenous Australians .
We are overcompensating for past ignorance and injustice.
An immigrant getting sworn in at a ceremony on Australia Day this year is not considered an invader, why should a convict from 1788 who never wished a seconds harm on a First Nation’s person be considered any differently ?
When are Australians of colonial descent allowed to celebrate our good fortune ?
13 February- Anniversary of Apology
15 March - National close the gap day
26 May - National sorry day
27 May - Anniversary of 1967 referendum
3 June - Mabo day
1 July - Coming of the light
8 - 15 July - NAIDOC week
4 July - National Aboriginal and Torres straight children’s day
9 August-International day of world’s indigenous people’s
5 September- Indigenous literacy day
13 September- Anniversary of UN declaration on the rights of indigenous people’s.
Yet Australians of colonial descent aren’t allowed to celebrate Australia Day or even ANZAC day ( proxy celebration of Australians of colonial descent) . We are shamed into believing that there is nothing to celebrate amongst our time on this land.
To be honest , I never celebrated Australia Day with any sense of history associated with first fleet arrival. Australian’s as a rule , don’t go in for that naval gazing, self indulgent wallowing or pompous displays of overt patriotism. Despite a strong devotion to common good and society, We are not the type of people to lose ourselves in blind veneration of the collective.
But we are anti authoritarian and if you tell us we cannot or should not do something that we believe is well intentioned and basically harmless we will dig our heels in and make a point of lairing it up in your face.
No one wishes anything but the best for any remaining marginalised First Nations people’s and we are proud of our association with such a beautiful culture and feel lucky that we can share their history and interweave it with our own till we are truly one people.
Celebrating our good fortune as descendents of colonial settlers neither contradicts or diminishes this fact.
Australia Day is a celebration of the start of the next step of the journey that has lead to our current enviable society.
No history is without good and bad. Not every person in the history of modern Australia is guilty of bad deeds and should not be held accountable for the actions of those who were . If Australia is considered to have been invaded , then that invasion is still ongoing. A welcomed immigrant arriving tomorrow is then an invader .
The first welcome breath of air taken in by a victim of old world oppression as experienced by the convicts as they stumbled out of the hulls of the transport ships into the blinding light of a January day in Sydney is symbolic of the role Australia plays in the modern world.
A place which is unrivalled in its accomodation and acceptance of immigrants and refugees viewed on a per capita basis. For every single Australian we are more welcoming and tolerant of people wishing to start a new life than any other country on the entire planet.
These people share the same horizon wide possibility that was experienced when the tyranny of distance favoured those whom the English elite made stateless in 1788.
I contend that January 26 is the beginning of the modern Australia which we all live in - Settler descendants, First nations people and multicultural arrivals. Australia Day is the only All inclusive date on the calendar.
We don’t really publicly celebrate much about Indigenous Australians. No special days, like 80,000 year day etc. Worlds oldest cultures day etc. The biggest, blatantly racist efforts go into hiding or down playing every thing about them.
TBH Blowin, I personally don't have an investment in it one way or another and it's got bugger all to do with 'shame'. I'm just not that way inclined. Fuck, I don't celebrate my own birthday, nor Fathers Day, or any other forced event, so you wont find me flag-waving, though I'm a hell of a hypocrite so I'll enjoy the day off and smile at the happy faces down the beach park on Australia Day.
However, I have Aboriginal neighbours (who I've mentioned here before) that are lovely people, two daughters exceling at school and sports, a son who's best mates with mine and is an absolute demon athlete and well-adjusted kid. Great family, right? Not prone to moping or humbugging. But January 26th is a day of sadness and I wish they could join in, because I'm sure they would if the symbolism was different.
That's why I care about it.
People can argue that if it wasn't the British it would have been someone else, and I'd agree. Invasion was inevitable. But so what? I don't know many Aborigines, but the ones I do know have well and truly come to terms with it, Yet you can't expect a people who lost their land to celebrate the anniversary of it. Can't we find a date that we can agree with or must the culture war go on forever?
I heard May 8 chucked out there once. Mate day.
Has a nice ring to it.
World’s first great sea voyage day. We survived the ice age day. World’s first axes day. World’s best environmental protection day. We never had a world war day. Must have been tons of special days in 80,000 years that were worth celebrating if you compare what we can celebrate in 200!!!?? You’d think so anyway...
When do we celebrate the 200 years ?
The single day when it’s ok to mention colonial contributions is being shamed out of existence.
Why do you keep saying shamed?
Still a few mal adjusted, ‘moping humbuggers’ obviously living on the wrong side of the tracks in Sydney!!!! Even our M8 ozzie of the year!!!???
Your’e doing a great job of covering your boyz tracks but st...
‘Key points:
Grant spoke about the impact of colonisation and discrimination in Sydney
He said when Adam Goodes was booed "it said to us again, you're not welcome"
Speech viewed more than 736,000 times on Facebook and 15,000 times on YouTube‘
‘Grant opened his speech acknowledging when AFL player Adam Goodes was "hounded" and booed, and told "he was not Australian".
"When we heard those boos, we heard a sound that was very familiar to us ... we heard a howl of humiliation that echoes across two centuries of dispossession, injustice, suffering and survival," Grant said.
"We heard the howl of the Australian dream, and it said to us again, you're not welcome."
He said we sung of the Australian dream, "Australians all let us rejoice for we are young and free".
"My people die young in this country," Grant said.
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-24/stan-grants-racism-is-killing-...
You’re kidding ?
Trying to make a point of how oppressed and humiliated First Nations people are by mentioning the plight of a wealthy Australian of the year and a successful TV personality whose speech attracted 750 000 views = Irony.
Yep, putting it politely, you were best summed up as ‘DENSE AS FUCK’, or ‘cutting to the chase’ just a ’fuckwit’. Still you earn it!!! Again!!!
@Blowin.
Is 'Schindlers List' any less powerful cos Spielberg is rich?
Your opinion and response to my post is that Im a climate denying cunt and a dipshit. Well hows GFY! Cant be bothered anymore. Im out.
Splendid chaps firing upon natives in order to invade the shoreline.
That's the invaders own account. 'How the fuck do you read that any other way!'
Sure sounds like Foreign invaders! No matter whose version you read.
Ok! So maybe after they shoot folks they hand out bandaids & flick a Hallmark Card!
Cook falsified Maps / Journals thru secrecy & jealousy.
Lied about claiming Australia to officers/crew/King/Aborigines & the whole world.
Yes! I thought Cook was a nice guy too until I started researching during forum.
Brings me no joy knowing I was misguided by his endless bullshit.
Who here believes that of countless nations that came & went before U.K. invaders.
Aborigines voted that these here killers are the most deserving to win their hearts?
Our libraries withhold founding documents.
Qld's founding documents are vaulted in NSW treasury in order not to upset toffs.
2017 Martins Memorandums was released by U.K. private university.
Bryant's epic legacy being the most daring open sea family voyage ever realized.
1791 escaping North along East Coast Bryants surf swells into 'White Bay' WTF. Saltwater Mothers/Children hand torch to Mary/kids @ Tangalooma Camp 3 days.
Bryants detailed inshore logs confiscated by Bligh then passed on to Flinders.
1799 Golden Boy stumbles upon 'White Bay' shoots local renames it Morton Bay.
Bligh next supposedly edges Bryants open Sea Journey record.
Here's another twist...'Morton' is also the surname of Bryants #1 Navigator.
Note Bryant's discovery of Morton Bay was made with an Empire Flagship.
4 or more coincidences surrounding Bryants being the only other folk in town?
Swellnetonians can decide which version of history suits best.
October 2017 I gifted hand crafted folders to Qld libraries/Museums
RHSQ: 'Thank You for 'Discovery Of Moreton Bay- What a Beautiful presentation!'
'So much attention to detail is notable.'( I transcribed with Saltwater language!)
'We were especially appreciative of sketches.'
(Hand made Postcards feature Aboriginal decal Stamps)(Depicting 3 Surf Scenes)
Surfing 'round Cape Morton /Tangalooma shoreline / Shotblast on beach
The pack also contained Maps + Aboriginal Flag decal on Paperbark Bookmarks
RHSQ reply came on a leaflet ?
No Reference Number was recorded.(No verification)I reckon Folder's are in the Bin!
*Maritime Museum (No reply) Qld's founding flagship replica is a thrifty investment!
*John Oxley Library (No reply) Paper stated far reaching effects on Qld history!
*Quandamooka (No reply) Paper stated that reconciliation must be true to itself!
Rest assured Qld schoolbooks will be spared the heartbeat of true reconciliation.
No gentile folk need swap fanciful foot soldier flag waving for convict uprising.
As it seems no one wants the truth to come out for different reasons.
*Maritime Museum refuse to accept Convicts in a stolen cutter as Bne Flagship?
*Saltwater people won't wish to downplay invaders gunfire at Skirmish Point?
I am relaying a first hand account of Qld beginnings that won't be accepted.
Not in our time or next. Why! (Women/Convicts/Aboriginals)...No top Brass! Sorry!
I've uncovered a dozen more early Qld lies that need correcting.
Will I waste more time presenting a more accurate picture of our past. Sure! Why?
I can safely say I care more for Qld/Oz history than any Qld civic Historians.
If just one had the decency to embrace Qld/Oz History honestly & openly.
Then i'll gladly stand beside my fellow Aussie on Oz Day. Until then, I'm with Norm!
Anyway as one ozzie M8, Japanese migrant zen like and astutely asserted, ozzie’s love the Kiwis and absolutely love, celebrate and promote a bloody good Haka!!!! But, ‘‘ere, just you hang orn there a farkin’ minute... ya might be farkin’ ozzie of the farkin’ year maayte’, but don’t you go getting all farkin’ uppity and carryin’ ‘orn like one of them bloody Nunga’s ya farkin’ ungrateful bastard!!!!???’
I didnt boo Adam Goodes .
Did you ?
Our PM ProMo should've stuck to tourism spruiking.
Hang on, he was shit at that too.
And he got the sack!
Ah well, the more things change, the more they stay the same...
Oi!
"I didnt boo Adam Goodes .
Did you ?"
There's your Straya Day t-shirt right there, cobber. Fair dinks.
Oi!
Oz Day, Jan 26th, since 1994.
Endeavour circumnavigation since 2012!
http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2012/02/16/3432507.htm?fbclid=IwAR1Ki...
Tradition!
Oi!
"I didnt boo Adam Goodes .
Did you ?"
There's your Straya Day t-shirt right there, cobber. Fair dinks.
Oi!‘
Haha!!! Classic! Yep the aptly identified ‘DENSITY’ keeps on getting denser!!! Stupe’s golden boy certainly earns his stripes... we’ll in his case, spots... and of course dots!!!
Just an observation but , Fairwork Australia ( all states ) has for this year 2019, substituted Australia day Holiday from Saturday 26th and named Monday the 28th as the Australia day Holiday. So if you work on Saturday the 26th you're not getting holiday rates, but if you've got a shift on Monday, you're getting holiday rates. Its the substitute holiday day as Australia day falls on a weekend day .
Australia day is on the 28th this year, cause that's when i get a paid day off.
My only gripe this year, is that triple j should be playing the hottest 100 on Monday, and not Sunday when I'm at work ya buggers.
Jeff Kennett, former Victorian Liberal Premier, today called for Australia Day to be changed to January 1 i.e. the day Australia became a federation. He also added his in-principle support to the proposal stemming from the 2017 Uluru statement, which would constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous "voice" to Parliament in order to inform legislation as it pertains to Aboriginal affairs.
.... not reading from the same script as COALmo
Isn’t it incredible how many politicians discover their moral compass when they leave politics ?
If I was a cynical person, I’d believe that there’s more than just coincidence involved .
Kennett headed up Beyond Blue for years after leaving politics Blowie so he has lots of credibility. Gillard now heads it up.
Ha ha....Kennett and credibility...never seen those two words together before...
Our community is still suffering from his council amalgamation thing.
I made a point earlier that Australia Day Holiday isn't on the 26th this year according to what everybody deems a holiday . Its on Monday the 28th!! Doesn't anyone think that this is nuts ?? Government wants to hold on to the date 26th but it isn't actually a holiday if you are working!! WTF ? Isnt that the point of Australia Day? So that if this day (the 26th) is the day you normally work, you can choose to have it off and celebrate the "aussie mateship" or whatever and have a bbq. They make the 28th the day that you get the holiday. Huh? I agree FYI with changing the official date but can't get past the changing of the dates for the paid holiday, even if it falls on a weekend day. Its just plain weird . Just change it to the last Monday of January every year and be done with it. Bloody silly waste of money and energy.
@Hastoes Thats how it use to be for about 50 years, public holiday on the Monday until 94 (while official day was still the 26th)
The Aussie thing to do though would be to just take the Saturday off anyway.
Funny how people care so much about changing Australia day, meanwhile i never hear anything about the Queens Birthday scraping that..
I mean seriously why do we celebrate the queens birthday and have a holiday for it?
Id rather the government keep Australia day as it is and hold onto the little bit of culture and history we have and get rid of the Queens birthday.
By all means id be happy to have it replaced with a day for Australian first people, there kinds of already is a day (week) Reconciliation day (end of May) but only ACT get a public holiday for it.
IMHO those jumping on the indigenous issues bandwagon would be much better off spending their energy trying to get a day like this as a public holiday and try to bring more focus and education to wider public on Indigenous issues that matter.
"IMHO those jumping on the indigenous issues bandwagon would be much better off spending their energy trying to get a day like this as a public holiday"
It's not the day off work that matters but that Jan 26 celebrates a contentious date. One that not everyone in Australia can easily celebrate.
You never want to get between an Aussie and their long weekend Monday , irrespective of the date or reason.
Id sooner get between a hungry white pointer and an injured baby seal.
@Stu
Yeah but public holidays bring focus to days and make them special.
During the year there is so many different days and weeks, but without the holiday they get little attention most pass by without anyone even knowing.
I don't buy the date thing/argument, dates irrelevant unless you do away with all the others historic aspects of Australia day, once you do that you destroy the whole day and meaning...basically just trying to hide history in a sense.
Personally i don't buy the indigenous angle thing, i highly doubt many true indigenous people give a shit, I'm sure they have bigger issues to deal with.
But yeah those who "identify" as Indigenous are always looking for these kind of things to validate their identity.
Eeew little fckning man's syndrome, poor Phillip Island keeps on getting the short shift from the Bass Coast Shire. Very disingenuous of you (in)noddy, sure Kennett did lots we all disagree with but his work with Beyond Blue was real nation building.
"But yeah those who "identify" as Indigenous are always looking for these kind of things to validate their identity."
Did you read my post earlier? About my neighbours who don't put their identity into inverted commas, who live good socially-acceptable lives, but who are Aboriginal and for them it's a sad day. They're not inventions of anyone's prejudice but real people who do give a shit about it.
EDIT: Your last two paragraphs are pretty loose, ID.
Can't believe you said that indo.........show some respect mate.
.
Sorry i was just thinking of this guy from down my way, i think he did one of those DNA test things years ago or something and found out he has Indigenous ancestry so now he is the big flag flyer for all things indigenous, it's a pretty busy time for him on social media this month with this Australia day thing coming up.
BTW. no i don't bother commenting on his his post, but yes others do..much much more loose than my post too.
Well, Indo, that's alright then...
My point is that the idea of a "Holiday" should be as it sounds.
Personally I think that you get it right from the start. If we look at the words "Public Holiday" I would think that they'd mean something like a public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is a non-working day during the year. A day when everyone in a particular country does not have to go to work or school. What the fuck else do you think the word "Holiday" mean????
If it didn't mean no work or school , you'd call it a commemorative day or some shit. Of course " Holiday" means no work, or the choice to take extra $$$ as payment for working on the "Holiday "
It really does matter to some people, especially with family to be having a day to spend with friends and family, and that includes everybody no matter what colour shape or size. If the day in question isn't a "Holiday" then what the heck are you all on about? January 26th clearly isn't a holiday in 2019 or are you all missing the point of the word "Holiday" .
You had us worried there for a minute indo. Sounded like you were heading into Clancy Dackbulge territory!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/23/australia-day-our-...
I don't see why the argument is australia day or not. Especially when most people would support a day of some kind. And only a fool would fuck with the public holiday aspect so it isn't going anywhere.
So the argument is jusr about the date really. Which has only been around 30 years of so. To my mind 30 years is not long enough to warrant too much nostalgia / romanticism, yet the romanticism appears overly disproportionate.
Get over the date and find a day we can all celebrate I say...if that's what the people want. Black and white. Find out, can't hurt.
I'm encouraged some aboriginals are for not stirring shit up about Oz day. It shows aboriginals are not the homogeneous mob we've been lead to believe.
Ask the people, all the people, easy fixed.
Blubbering bullshit artist, you've held these views for years but normally you're way more careful how you word them.
OK, we've reached the point where name calling has begun so let's make like Toots and have a pressure drop. Keep it robust but also keep giving the benefit of the doubt.
ok then, suggest we all revisit the Adam Goodes forum topic and the who's and whats was said.
Edit: Done this topic to death, not going to start it all again, free to think what you like Guy
Indo as long as there is a significant group of any race religion or whatever who strongly disagree with the date it can never unify us ....... which presumably why we have a national day.
Sure the long weekend officially starts tomorrow, but patience has never been my strong suit and today is just too damn fine to waste with thoughts of routine So I’ve kicked this thing off early.
Actually started with a bang last night as another earthquake shook me from sleep. It was a stinker of a night . Building up to some monsoonal activity and the hot , still nights are here with a vengeance. Laying with the sheets bunched on the floor and the air from the fan brushing my skin.
Then I was woken by the Big Fella of the mob of greys that gets around the traps. He seemed to think that indoors was the place to be. First time I’ve seen a kangaroo trying to negotiate a fly screen door. Stupid prick.
Third event for the night and it sounds like someone’s after my tinny - the Sea Wok . Throw on some shorts and bolt down the path to investigate straight into an industrial sized spiders web. Still asleep , I actually feel the Big Golden orb running across my chest trying to escape.
The boat was fine . The spider and myself came to an agreement to stay the fuck away from each other from now on. Back to bed.
Woke up bleary to a perfect day. Northerly beats me to the punch . Surfing’s out so it’s coffees at the kiosk then a quick dive to spear some lunch.
Fish in the fridge , the days heating up and I’m planning on cracking my first beer at 14:30.
Feel free to join me.
Time to take stock of the incredible life we’ve got in this amazing country.
You might not like the premise, but I reckon this holiday rules. It’s the celebration of Australia at its peak. Everyone has let go of the old year and made inroads on the next. The craziness and release of the Chrissy / New Years is behind us and the summer has been wrung of every bit of fun available. The caravan parks and coastal towns are still chockers but the last hurrah is upon us. It’s been great and I’ve had a ball.
So raise a glass or an ice cream or a halal salad or whatever the fuck you want in recognition of how good we’ve got it here under Huey’s benevolent gaze.