Australia Day

 

Australia Day is held annually on January 26, commemorating the arrival of British ships to establish the first European settlement in Australia in 1788. These eleven ships carried over 750 criminals who had been tried and convicted in Great Britain for mostly petty crimes and then transported to penal colonies established by the British throughout the world, including North America and the Pacific. An additional 300 citizens from military and medical backgrounds made the trip to Australia, establishing the new colony.

Australia Day, in recent years, has become controversial because of a "change the date" campaign, the supporters of which demand the date of Australia Day be changed from January 26 to May 9.

On May 9 in 1901, Australia's first parliament was opened and the six British colonies united to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Significantly, the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people as the first people of Australia associate the day as the beginning of the time when they suffered massacres, land theft, stolen children and oppression.

Alternatively, there is an idea that Australia Day should be abolished as a national holiday, arguing that there is nothing to celebrate until more work is done towards bringing social justice for the indigenous people and acknowledging that the values the day celebrates, which includes equality, freedom and opportunity is not what many Australians experience.