Australia Day Research Paper

As of today the 1st of January still reminds us of the importance of Australia. Who knows what could have Australia been like if Sir Henry Parkes didn’t make a commitment in order to improve Australia. All of this changed after Federation happened, Australia now has a better and united economy, wonderful lifted Australian Spirit, stronger defence force and the Pride of our Australians

Australia day commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet on the 26th of January 1788. To some people, it means invasion day, but to others it was the birth of our great nation, and a time to celebrate a fair go.The issue of whether the date of Australia day should be changed has divided the Australian and Aboriginal community, which has caused a matter of intense debate over the years. Calla Wahlquist’s opinion piece, “Australia day: A guide to changing minds without ruining the barbecue” was written in The Guardian newspaper on the 25th of January 2018 Wahlquist argues that the date of Australia day should be changed, calling upon the general public (AUDIENCE). Wahlquist employs an assertive tone throughout her piece, through the use of positive, strong- willed words such as fair and inclusive, shows the reader that the author values her writing as well as exhibits confidence while maintaining respect.

During the war the British soldiers looked up to the Australian soldiers because of their spirit. The Australian soldiers also looked up to the British soldiers and called England the Mother Country. Also the Australians liked to call themselves British. Lastly Britain bought a lot of Australia’s wheat to commemorate their war effort

On the 26th of January 1788, marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. It was when British ships made landfall on Australian soil, which is now celebrated as the National Day of Australia. However Indigenous Australians look back at the colonization as a violent invasion. In Ben Roberts Smiths opinion piece “We are one, but we are many” (Herald Sun, 26th January 2017) enthusiastically proposes that Australia should be a day of unity and a reminder to think about our nation’s past, and to celebrate the present and to look confidently ahead to the future. He emphasizes his opinion by employing clichés, inclusive language, statistics, emotive language and family values.

'A Righteous Day' written by Mudrooroo Nyroongah on 26TH January (Australia Day), in 1988, is a poem set in the first person voice that has been composed in response to the depressing day of the Bicentenary of European Settlement. As the "righteous" day is reflected by the persona, this contrasts with the 'White' Australians celebrating a "successful" colonisation in high-spirited ways, because to the Aborigines it is a day of mourning as they view it as Invasion day. The poem underlines the fact that despite the hardships Aborigines have experienced as a result of White Colonisation, it would be ideal if they shifted from prisoners of society to proactive citizens of Australia who will stand tall with pride and win their internal battles

We Australians must have been very well-behaved over the Australia Day celebrations this year. So much so, that media outlets had to dig deep into the archives to find a story to talk up that would fire up our Australian sense of nationalism.

(done) Argument 1: dispossession and trauma for indigenous people Both indigenous and non-indigenous Australian’s feel that they cannot celebrate Australia Day, because the date marks the commencement of a long history of dispossession and trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Imagine how you would feel if you and your family welcomed strangers into your home but they never left. In fact, even after being kind and gentle towards them, they took control of your home and made you move far away? What if they abused you physically, sexually and financially, and spread epidemic disease throughout your community, all things that you had never once experienced? Can you imagine how this would affect your children and grandchildren’s view of

Australia day a day that marks a horrific anniversary for Indigenous Australian’s it is commonly known as Invasion day. Invasion day is the day that everything changed no longer were the indigenous people to live in peaceful family groups. Their peace and harmony was to be destroyed by European ideals. Invasion day or Survival day marked the beginning of years of struggle and loss for the indigenous people a battle that they still fight today. Colonization was a cultural wrecking ball when it came to the Australian indigenous and it began on Invasion

Moore intensely advocates for the permanent date of a national event, Australia Day represented on the 26th of January to remain consistent. Despite contrasting opinions, the writer energetically argues that the significant day of the month 'shaped and formed' this nation, the home that we Australians reside in due to the 1788 First Fleet. Continuing, the author goes on to state that the date does not represent or define a takeover from Indigenous owners of the land to privileged men, but to be recognised as a historical event that molded the Australian culture and

Australia Day which the Aborigines call ‘Invasion Day’, ‘Day of Mourning’ and ‘Survival Day’, marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney Cove.

There are many diverse interpretations of the words “Australian Identity”. The national anthem, as evidenced in Stand Up, is a primarily white interpretation of Australia and the Australian identity, with many of the lines ignoring the Indigenous people of Australia (Perkins et al, 2012). Another form of the “Australian Identity” was one presented by Prime Minister Paul Keating in his Redfern Address in 1992. He proclaimed that “Australia is a first-rate social democracy…truly the land of the fair go and the better chance”. This idea presented represents an egalitarian society, where every single human has an equal opportunity at life. Yet another, shown in the songs Paul Kelly sang, but especially in “this land is mine” is the difference between the identity of Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians (Kelly et al, 2001). Each of these texts addressed a major issue. Stand Up compared the relative value of tradition and the right to freedom of expression. Keating’s speech expressed the need for justice and recognition of both the stolen generation and the injustices done to the Indigenous people as a whole. Kelly’s songs represent the importance of the land to Indigenous people and why the “returning of the land” is so important. Although they each mentioned a major issue, the texts all gave solutions to these issues, from reiterating the importance of the basic human right of freedom of speech in Stand Up, to explaining the role and qualities of the Aboriginal

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our

One of the most significant Aboriginal attempts at equality of the 20th century was the Day

200 years is enough time to forgive. Wake up, everyone! We know the British came and stole Aboriginal landing, that was a huge crime but now our war ended, we live in our country named Australia and we are Australians, Australia Day is one of our tradition, Aboriginal’s failure won’t change despite we change the day. I am Lake, a Aborigine living and contributing for Australia and I will sorry to Melbourne citizens, especially who want to change the day that i honestly disagree.

On January 26, 1788 the first fleet arrived, marking the beginning of genocide of the Aboriginal People. By 1935 all states came to acknowledge the colonisation of Australia, and January 26 became known as “Australia Day”.