Carlton Supporters Club

I gravely doubt the loudest of voices will be happy at all, no matter what date is chosen!

The date/day is just a symbol that is currently being targeted, the most radical who are usually the loudest voices, don't want it moved they want it eradicated.

In fact, invasion day, or the national day of mourning, has been celebrated on 26 Jan for far longer than Australia Day has been on 26 Jan.  I suspect that most Indigenous Australians, “radical” or moderate, would want to continue commemorating 26 Jan, just not as Australia Day.

'Australia' was actually born as a nation, and no longer a group of independent colonies, on January 1st, 1901. Seems a logical date for Australia Day. A day when all Australians, regardless of race/religion/colour or creed, can celebrate all that is Aussie AND all our roots.

For arguments sake, parades in all capital cities, major rural cities, with floats/representations/music from all those who make up 'Australia' - indigenous Aussies, English, Greeks, Italians, Irish, Scot, Japanese, Chines, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, other various Asian countries... etc., etc. Acknowledging and respecting all.

 

'Australia' was actually born as a nation, and no longer a group of independent colonies, on January 1st, 1901. Seems a logical date for Australia Day. A day when all Australians, regardless of race/religion/colour or creed, can celebrate all that is Aussie AND all our roots.

For arguments sake, parades in all capital cities, major rural cities, with floats/representations/music from all those who make up 'Australia' - indigenous Aussies, English, Greeks, Italians, Irish, Scot, Japanese, Chines, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, other various Asian countries... etc., etc. Acknowledging and respecting all.

 

I apologise for my cynicism but that very label, Invasion Day, is almost certainly a thinly veiled attempt by some to frame the groundwork for a legal compensation bid.

As far as I can tell, the protests, the mourning ceremonies, have very little to do with personal grief after so many generations and so much time has past! We celebrate Anzac Day and Armistice Day to remember, nobody is there protesting and calling for compensation.

I've stated this before, about a myriad of issues not just those in Australia, take the profit out of these disputes and you'll find only those people genuinely searching for reconciliation remain. Until then, I reserve the right to remain cynical.

Why do you always resort to the compensation line?

Look up William Cooper.  He’s the bloke who started the national day of mourning on 26 Jan 1938.  He’s also the bloke who led a delegation to the German consulate in 1938 to protest about the Nazi attacks on Jews.  Was he looking for compensation from Hitler?

Highlighting the acts of the odd noble individual, or even the acts of the vast majority if they are conscientious, doesn't explain away the motives of a radical minority.

The problem for me is that some actions of a small minority do not seem to be consistent with the broader message, yet they happily hide amongst us.

'Australia' was actually born as a nation, and no longer a group of independent colonies, on January 1st, 1901. Seems a logical date for Australia Day. A day when all Australians, regardless of race/religion/colour or creed, can celebrate all that is Aussie AND all our roots.

For arguments sake, parades in all capital cities, major rural cities, with floats/representations/music from all those who make up 'Australia' - indigenous Aussies, English, Greeks, Italians, Irish, Scot, Japanese, Chines, Vietnamese, Indian, Pakistani, other various Asian countries... etc., etc. Acknowledging and respecting all.

 

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.