policy & reform
campusreview.com.au
Celebration
or invasion?
Australia Day has been much debated lately,
but what is the history behind this increasingly
divisive date and what are the alternatives?
Jane Lydon interviewed by Kirstie Chlopicki
A
ustralians love a long weekend of
beers and barbecues, and Australia
Day has traditionally provided us
the opportunity to do just that. But what
does Australia Day actually mean?
To unravel the misconceptions and
myths surrounding our national holiday,
Campus Review turned to the chair in
Australian history at the University of
Western Australia, Jane Lydon.
CR: You’ve written a lot about this
subject. Could you run us through some
of the most common Australia Day
misconceptions you’ve come across?
JL: Well, I think a lot of Australians believe
12
the 26th of January was a very dramatic
moment when the British arrived in
Australia for the first time, but actually
it was a lot more complicated and
protracted than that.
The first fleet brought a large number of
ships and people and animals, and all sorts
of things with them, and actually arrived
in Sydney Harbour on the 18th of January
in 1788.
They anchored in Botany Bay but
decided very quickly that it wasn’t a good
place for a colony.
Then, a week later they moved around
into Port Jackson and unloaded at Sydney
Cove instead.
The other thing about this that’s
quite interesting is they only unloaded
the men from the supply on the 26th
of January. They didn’t unload the
women until a week after that on the 6th
of February.
So when we talk about the arrival,
the first landing, it’s really the second
landing of the male convicts that we’re
celebrating on the 26th of January. It
totally excludes all the women.
And in your experience, are many people
familiar with these facts? Are they usually
surprised when you tell them?
Yeah, I think a lot of people are very
committed to a national holiday, as we
all are, and I think no one’s objecting to
having a national holiday.
However, there are a lot of
misconceptions about the meaning of the
26th of January.
Another is the fact that it hasn’t always
been celebrated on that day, and its
meaning has changed a lot since 1788.