To set the scene for this blog I have copied the first verse from ‘Own Backyard’ a song by Horrorshow from their album King Amongst Many …

Tension simmers from the white hot heat of the cold hard truth
That I never heard up in no classroom
Coming to understand, that I got blood on my hands
Cost of living in this sunburnt land
From the sands of the coast to the bush
We advanced as we came
And we pushed as they pulled so we took
And what we gave in exchange
Plague, disease and poison in the bottle
No question, blood stains the wattle
Was it like a game of hide and seek?
Stalking through the bush silently
Cos society told ‘em to do it quietly
From the Apple Isle to the Myall Creek
Gun barrels rang out and put an end to what might’ve been
Genocide, lies, deceit, rape and massacre
Systematic assassination of character
Acts of depravity disguised as charity
All in the name of civilising humanity
Children snatched away from their families
Pain resonates leaving untold casualties
Protection boards and half castes
The truth is the flag ought fly at half-mast
It’s a dark past buried in our own backyard
Still I can’t stand the thought that it’s all too hard
Or the heartless catch cry that “it’s all in the past”
Yo that sounds like a coward’s remarks
This is happening right now, outback third world conditions
That never seem to make our televisions
Screens too congested with the rhetoric of politicians
Grandiose claims about Australian traditions
Enquiries and royal commissions
That are yet follow through to a conviction
Loyal subjects protected by the system
Too many dying in our prisons
Like a Palm Island man left lying on a cold cell floor
While the people looked for justice in a makeshift court
The response just stopped short of martial law
With the riot squad kicking down doors
I remember at fifteen, walking through The Block, feeling nervous
Cos my whole life I’d heard that it was risky
The racist in me, what a crock of shit
I stopped to think the opposite when the streets burned for T.J Hickey
Don’t ask why, what’s the use in that?
Cops roll past in red, white and blue of the Union Jack
Subtle oppression, bubbling menace
Maintain the presence, make the population feel threatened
Now fate beckons, hear the echoes
As the pain resonates devastation
Every January 26 I’m torn between wanting to celebrate
And hang my head in shame
There’s gotta be a better way, let me say

So what is a better way?

For me, Australia Day invokes many conflicting emotions and thoughts, similar to the sentiments above. In recent years my thoughts have been with our Indigenous people, the original custodians of our great country, and the callous treatment they have endured ever since Europeans decided to settle here. I can understand why many of us see Australia Day as a ‘Day of Mourning’. In fact back on 26 January 1938, Indigenous people gathered in Sydney to mark a ‘Day of Mourning’ and have commemorated this day ever since, more recently referred to as ‘Invasion Day’ or ‘Survival Day’. On Australia Day in 1988, thousands of indigenous and non-indigenous people marched in protest. As a 14 year old I was at the Bi-centennial celebrations on Sydney Harbour and saw the march. I didn’t really understand its significance at the time but I do recall thinking that something wasn’t right and that I should be standing with these people. I have since watched the documentary ‘88’ about the march and it very moving. The protest that day was probably the first time many white Australian’s realised we had a black history. Seems odd that it would take until 1988 for this to occur, especially given our great country was occupied by Indigenous people for more than 50,000 years prior to European colonisation and the cultures, storylines, lifestyle and their stewardship of this land prior to colonisation should be something we all draw inspiration and knowledge from.

But also, European colonisation brought many great opportunities for many of us and has a great history of mateship, innovation, endeavour and enterprise. But for others of us, especially the indigenous peoples of this land it has been brutal with massacres, oppression, racism and disharmony.

Australia Day should bring our country together but it seems to divide us more and more especially since the change the date movement commenced several years ago putting a spotlight on the inhumanity of our colonial past and present. Just a quick scroll through my social media brings this divide home every January not to mention our sensationalist mainstream media that seem to delight in fuelling divisions.

So, what is the significance of Australia Day. The 26^th January actually marks the raising of the Union Jack in Sydney Cove and the official declaration of British Sovereignty upon this land in 1788. It’s not actually the first day the First Fleet set ashore as for about a week from sometime between 18 to 20 January men of the First Fleet had already come ashore at Botany Bay. But finding it unsuitable they relocated to Port Jackson.

Initially, it was only New South Wales that celebrated the day, and it was known as First Landing Day or Foundation Day. Records exist indicating that European settlers, particularly ex-convicts, commenced celebrating by participating in ‘drinking and merriment’ to celebrate their new home from as early as 1808. In 1838, 50 years after the First Fleet arrived, Foundation Day was declared Australia’s first public holiday in New South Wales. The day was later named ‘Anniversary Day’.

By 1935, the 26^th January was known as Australia Day in all states except New South Wales, where it was still called Anniversary Day. From 1946, 26^th January was called Australia Day in all states and territories. Since 1994, the Australia Day public holiday has been on January 26 throughout the country.

The first official national day that was actually named ‘Australia Day’ was on 30th July 1915 which was held to raise funds for the World War I effort. In 1916, the Australia Day Committee that had formed to organise the war effort fundraising from the year before determined that it would be held on 28th July.

Despite it being held under different guises and names, commemorating the start of the colony on 26^th January has been a significant date for the majority of the history of Australia since European settlement.

But given the day is not inclusive of everyone, and is not celebrated, but rather mourned by our Indigenous community, and seems to put a growing spotlight on the brutality and injustice of our colonisation of this country, should we continue to celebrate it? Should we change the date?

As it stands now, and with the current divisive political discourse that now surrounds the day I say yes. I am also moved by an article by Luke Pearson in the Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/16/i-no-longer-support-changethedate-we-must-change-the-country) where he asserts that we really need to change the country before we even contemplate changing the date. Luke elaborates on this in the following quote from that article, “I don’t really feel that Australia, where we sit right now, is worth celebrating. Not just the actions of 230 years ago, or a century ago, or 50, or even 15 years ago that are problematic. It is those things that exist today that are so problematic that I couldn’t in good faith celebrate our nation as a whole. A lot of that is tied up in our denial of history and our collective refusal to make any meaningful steps to reconcile it, but it extends beyond that too. A simple observation would be to point out that there are only two events where we can be guaranteed to see white people wearing flag capes – on Australia Day and at neo-Nazi rallies. Moving an overly politicised and problematic day to another date won’t change that.”

It is with utter despondency and incomprehension that I see the evils our country currently promotes. Be it the treatment of refugees, particularly on Manus Island, our treatment of our indigenous people, the racist discourse of some of our parliamentarians not to mention their collective lack of leadership on climate change, our current continued blind ideology of neoliberalism creating greater inequality and poverty in our society and the current parlous state of the Murray Darling Basin, in particular the death of the Darling River. So I can relate to the sentiments of Luke Pearson and wonder if we have a country worth celebrating. But it is easy to focus on negatives and I have a firm belief that the majority of us in this country are good people doing some extraordinary things that are very much worth celebrating as a nation. Perhaps focusing on these positives on a national day will help us to also focus on fixing the evils that do pervade our society.

I can understand if our indigenous community could not ever bring themselves to celebrating 26th January. But I would like to explore an alternative whereby we can make 26th January a day where we meaningfully can bring all people living on this great land together in an inclusive celebration and commemoration of all that is great about Australia.

Looking into the future there are two things I believe this country needs to do to not only recognise all our history, the good and the bad as well as to make us a nation standing on our own two feet. The first is a robust Treaty with our Indigenous People coupled with Constitutional recognition of our Indigenous people and history.

Would it not be an amazingly symbolic gesture for reconciliation and recognition of our inspirational human heritage upon this land dating back over 50,000 years to have the treaty signed on 26th January? If this treaty was entered into coupled with a meaningful commitment by all of us to eradicate racism, social injustice and discrimination for all people within our community then perhaps this could make 26th January a date worth celebrating. I would certainly be proud of my nation if this was possible.

The second thing I believe we need to do as a nation is become a republic and finally stand on our own two feet and move on from our British Colonial past and finally become a nation in our own right. Why couldn’t this also occur on 26th January as an equally symbolic gesture for us to positively create a sustainable future and become the truly multicultural, egalitarian and cohesive nation we should aspire to be. Not only do we then have a day where we can recognise and be inspired by our indigenous and European heritage but also rejoice in us becoming a truly independent nation.

So for me, that is our better way. The 26^th January is already a day with great meaning for this country, both positive and negative. It is a day that is currently dividing us but why not aim for it to unite us. It will not happen overnight, and it will not be easy, there will be heartache and healing, self-reflection and reconciliation. But I truly believe we can make the day something truly worthy of a national celebration as it will commemorate a nation that finally matures and sets itself upon a path towards a future that we can all be proud of.

If you want to listen to ‘Own Backyard’ featuring Jimblah by Horrorshow check the link at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac-t_sDD720

Better still, get your hands on their album ‘King Amongst Many’, its a cracker and can be purchased through Elefant Traks at: https://www.elefanttraks.com/