Australia Day 2020

January 26th marks the anniversary of the First Fleet's arrival in Port Jackson, New South Wales in 1788 and the first European settlement on the continent.
In previous times, this day was celebrated quietly by family get togethers, bbqs, council sausage sizzle breakfasts in parks, a concert of Australian music here and there, or a day at the beach and fireworks in the evening.
Then, gradually the day became a conduit for the ‘love it or leave it’ bogan (redneck) crowd to promote a nationalism that bordered on jingoism which became quite disappointing.
Also a ground swell of indigenous Australian protest of the day they saw as the beginning of colonial oppression also surfaced. For them it was Invasion Day.

Invasion Day is not only understood by growing numbers of non indigenous Australians, it  is now the dominant narrative on 26th January.
This year, tens of thousands of people gathered for Invasion Day rallies in the nation's capital cities and regional centres.
Personally I have thought for quite a while it’s time to ‘change the date’ to celebrate our nation to one that is totally inclusive. But the traditionalists in power are holding firm as conservatives tend to do.
However it’s like the ongoing Republic debate........it will happen one day.
On a more positive note, 454 citizenship ceremonies were performed across the country yesterday conferring citizenship on a record 27,419 new Australians.