Skip to main content

Australia Day: 26 January 2022

 





Australia Day is celebrated annually on 26 January. We celebrate and acknowledge Australia’s people, history, lifestyle, and democracy – from our First Nations (Torres Strait Islander people) and their 65,000 year heritage to the inclusion of new migrants. For example, each Australia Day over 16,000 new Australians become citizens.


Australia Day was first proclaimed an annual public holiday for 26 January in 1838 to mark the Jubilee of the British occupation of New South Wales (the state, with Sydney as the capital), and it became a national holiday across the whole country in 1871. In 1938, in Sydney, the First Nations spokespersons met on Australia Day for a Day of Mourning as a means of protest and to seek full citizen rights. In a national referendum in 1967, 91% of the population voted for First Nations peoples to receive full citizen rights.


In 1984, Australians ceased to be British subjects. The song “Advance Australia Fair” replaced “God Save the Queen” as the national anthem. Australia continues to be a Commonwealth country – its full title is the Commonwealth of Australia. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a voluntary association of 54 countries. The Head of the Commonwealth is not a hereditary position, and Commonwealth leaders will choose the future Head of the Commonwealth.


Two flags are officially recognized as the flag of Australia: 1) the blue flag with the British Union Jack and the six stars of the Southern Cross constellation used since 1903, and 2) the red, black, and yellow First Nations flag used since 1995.


Debate continues today whether to abolish the day, change the date, or to have an alternative date of commemoration and recognition for First Nations peoples.

 

Living overseas, it is a day to remember and celebrate all the things we love about Australia.


Thanks Julie for sending me the Australia Survival Kit so that I could celebrate the day.





















MARTINA NICOLLS

MartinaNicollsWebsite

 

Martinasblogs

Publications

Facebook

Paris Website

Animal Website

Flower Website

SUBSCRIBE TO MARTINA NICOLLS FOR NEWS AND UPDATES 

 

MARTINA NICOLLS  is an international aid and development consultant, and the author  of: The Paris Residences of James Joyce  (2020), Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more