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POLITICS
Mark Hodges MP
MEMBER FOR CASTLE HILL
AS YOUR STATE MP, I AM HERE TO:
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02 9686 3110 castlehill @ parliament. nsw. gov. au Suite 1A, 19-21 Terminus Street, Castle Hill NSW 2154
Authorised by Mark Hodges MP, Suite 1A, 19-21 Terminus Street, Castle Hill NSW 2154. Funded using Parliamentary Entitlements.
Australia Day: A time to be grateful
by Mark Hodges MP Member for Castle Hill
237 years ago, on 26 January a humble makeshift flagpole was planted on Sydney Cove. Governor Phillip and his officers drank the health of the King as the colours were raised. It must have been a moment of profound relief, as mere hours earlier they were battling for their lives amidst a fierce storm that threatened to wreck the whole fleet as it moved from Botany Bay to Port Jackson. But I wonder if any of them could have imagined, as they were clearing the ground to make camp, what would become of the very ground they were standing on, and would sleep on for the first time that night. Just 55 years later, it would be Sydney Cover no longer, but replaced by the artificial shoreline now known as Circular Quay.
Of course, over the years, decades, and centuries, much more building would sprout up not just on the site of old Sydney Cove, but across the Cumberland Plain, over the Dividing Range, and eventually throughout the whole continent of this Great Southern Land. A huge debt of gratitude is owed to all those who undertook this great nationbuilding work in circumstances that are unimaginable to the modern mind. We are the children of those who planted trees, knowing they would not live to enjoy their fruit and shade.
Edifices of steel, bricks and mortar – and sandstone – are impressive. Roads, dams, sewers and infrastructure work in the background to provide conveniences we take for granted. But more impressive still are the intangible things that were planted here – our institutions, ideals and
way of life. These are the things that make us a truly extraordinary nation and the envy of the world.
Many are quick to point out how Australia is a remarkably egalitarian society, but how many stop to marvel at how it became so, from such harshly unequal conditions? A relationship of captor and prisoner – a governing elite and a convict population – is hardly a good starting point for enlightened egalitarianism. Yet against all odds, this unprecedented experiment worked. But make no mistake: it did not happen automatically. As with many colonial experiments that were happening around the world, we could have been a brutal, dictatorial slave colony. We could very easily have had a system of captive overlords and convict underclass endure for generation upon generation. It was through colossal effort and determination to transplant the very best principles of the old country – like responsible government, liberty and rule of law, fairness and equality – that made us who we are today.
In 1856 – just 68 years after the that first landing in Sydney Cove – NSW was granted responsible self-government, complete with a bicameral Parliament, in which I am privileged to sit today. This is simply extraordinary compared to other experiences around the world. Compare it to the American experience, or the struggle for home rule in Ireland, not to mention colonies of other European powers. There was no bloody revolution, no overthrowing of the government by an impassioned mob who had been too long denied their rights. By and large, our founders were committed to setting up
The Founding of Australia by Capt. Arthur Phillip R. N. Sydney Cove, January 26,1788.
robust institutions of government, and their efforts paid off.
One extraordinary example of these early pioneers is immortalised in marble in the NSW Parliament – William Bede Dalley, who served in many roles in the early parliament and government. Dalley’ s parents were outcasts of society – Irish convicts who were forcibly transported to our shores. By modern standards, Dalley was a victim, a by-product of severe human rights abuses. Yet this son of convicts was able to receive a worldclass education, rise to high office in the fledgling NSW Government and go on to be appointed the first Australianborn Privy Counsellor – turning his family’ s fortune from penal servitude honoured advisor to the Queen in a single
generation. This is truly remarkable – what other nation in the world has a history like this?
Australia Day brings about many different and contrasting attitudes, and understandably so – while we have much to be proud of, no would claim that we have an unblotted history. But for me, the correct attitude to Australia Day should be predominately one of gratitude. Because if we forget to be grateful for all the things we enjoy on a daily basis – which were built by others for us – we risk taking what is so precious for granted and losing sight of the responsibility we bear to preserve and build for those who come after us.
Authorised by Mark Hodges MP. Funded using parliamentary entitlements.
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THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 128 // FEBRUARY 2026 19