Australia Day

For the film, see Australia Day (film).

Australia Day
Sydney Harbour on Australia Day, 2014
Also called
  • Anniversary Day
  • Foundation Day
  • Survival Day
  • Invasion Day
Observed byAustralian citizens, residents and expatriates
TypeNational
SignificanceDate of the landing of the First Fleet on Sydney Cove in 1788
ObservancesFamily gatherings, fireworks, picnics and barbecues, parades, citizenship ceremonies, Australia Day honours, Australian of the Year presentation, many other celebrations alongside protests and mourning ceremonies[1]
Date26 January
FrequencyAnnual

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a small bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour.[2] In the present, the government Australia Day Council organises events that seek to recognise the contributions of Australians to the nation, while also encouraging reflection on past wrongs including towards Indigenous Australians and also giving respect and celebrating the diversity and achievements of Australian society past and present.[3] The presentation of community awards and citizenship ceremonies are also commonly held on the day.[1] The holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honours list and addresses from the governor-general and prime minister. It is an official public holiday in every state and territory. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation. Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia.[4]

The meaning and significance of Australia Day has evolved since the first records of celebration in 1808, with contested views on the day existing since at least 1888.[5] Previously, the states celebrated different days that acknowledged their founding, such as Regatta Day in Tasmania, Queensland Day in Queensland or Foundation Day in Western Australia, and the celebration of the first Anniversary Day or Foundation Day (as the day was called) by New South Wales in 1818 was seen in a similar light.[5] Following Federation in 1901, moves for a national holiday gained pace (prompted by lobbying by the Australian Natives' Association which celebrated ANA Day), with the name Australia Day and the date of 26 January finally selected in 1935, with a public holiday at or around that date in all states in 1940.[6][5] The first prominent protest also occurred around this time in 1938, with the first Day of Mourning held by the Australian Aborigines' League. In 1994 the date was fixed in all jurisdictions on 26 January when the practice by some states of holding the holiday on a Friday in late January for a long weekend was dropped.[7]

Since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been a day of protest and of mourning the start of the British colonisation of Australia, characterised as an invasion in which Indigenous Australians had the land that they had occupied for millennia forcibly taken.[8][9] Some observe 26 January as Invasion Day, Survival Day or as a Day of Mourning, as a counter-observance to the national day. Some counter-observers and others have called for the date of Australia Day to be changed or the holiday to be abolished entirely.[8][10][11][12] Support for changing the date has been a minority position; however, polls from 2021 have indicated that Australians under the age of 30 are much more supportive of the change than older generations.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

  1. ^ a b "The Australia Day events planned for the nation's capital cities". ABC News (Australia). 25 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ^ Chang, Charis (24 January 2023). "Why Australia Day is really held on 26 January". SBS News. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Australia Day". National Australia Day Council. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ National Australia Day Council Annual Report 2010–11 p. 3
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Conversation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Hirst, John (26 January 2008). "Australia Day in question". The Age. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  7. ^ "The evolution of Australia Day controversy". 25 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b Marlow, Karina (21 January 2016). "Australia Day, Invasion Day, Survival Day: What's in a name?". NITV. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  9. ^ Tippet, Gary (25 January 2009). "90 years apart and bonded by a nation". Melbourne: Australia Day Council of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
  10. ^ Gabrielle Chan (26 January 2017). "Most Indigenous Australians want date and name of Australia Day changed, poll finds". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  11. ^ Flynn, Eugenia (23 January 2018). "Abolish Australia Day – changing the date only seeks to further entrench Australian nationalism". IndigenousX. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  12. ^ Knaus, Christopher; Wahlquist, Calla (26 January 2018). "'Abolish Australia Day': Invasion Day marches draw tens of thousands of protesters". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Ipsos Australia Day Poll Report". Ipsos. 24 January 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  14. ^ Topsfield, Jewel (24 January 2021). "Not going to solve anything: Why some Australians don't want a date change". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  15. ^ Brennan, Bridget; Wellauer, Kirstie (18 June 2021). "We're changing our minds on Australia Day and it's happening rapidly, Australia Talks reveals". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 December 2022. The Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations.
  16. ^ "New Poll: Majority Of Australians Support Australia Day On 26 January". IPA - The Voice For Freedom. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  17. ^ Singleton, Andrew; Lowe, David; Cruickshank, Joanna (24 January 2022). "60% of Australians want to keep Australia Day on January 26, but those under 35 disagree". The Conversation. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Guardian Essential poll reveals growing support for changing the date of Australia Day". Guardian Australia. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.