© Peter Parks/AFPThousands of Australians joined an 'Invasion Day' rally in Melbourne calling for a rethink of national day celebrations they say are disrespectful to indigenous people.
The annual January 26 Australia Day holiday commemorates the arrival of the first British settlers in 1788, but for many Australians it marks the beginning of colonial oppression of Aboriginal people.
Several thousand joined the annual march in Melbourne Saturday chanting "Always was, always will be Aboriginal land", and holding placards stating "Australia is a crime scene".
Thousands more joined similar demonstrations in major cities around the country, calling for a change of date, or for the day to be abolished altogether.
© Peter Parks/AFPAustralia Day commemorates the arrival of the first British settlers in 1788 but for many Australians it marks the beginning of colonial oppression of Aboriginal people.
Divisions have deepened in recent years with increasing calls to change the date.
Amid the heightened sensitivities this week Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced government funding of a voyage to mark the 250th anniversary of explorer Captain James Cook's first journey to Australia.
Canberra pledged about $6.5 million to a circumnavigation of Australia in a replica of Cook's ship, the Endeavour, which in 1770 brought the British into contact with eastern Australia and foreshadowed the colonisation of the continent.
© Peter Parks/AFPDemonstrations were held in major cities around the country, calling for a change of date, or for Australia Day to be abolished altogether.
Meanwhile, the uncovering this week in London of the remains of British explorer Matthew Flinders, who is credited as the first to circumnavigate the Australian continent in 1802-1803, has also added to the controversy.
An aboriginal aide to Flinders named Bungaree has been largely eclipsed by his British captain, but historians now believe he played a crucial role in success of the voyage.
Morrison, who has resisted calls to change the date, said Saturday Australia cannot "walk away" from its past.
© Peter Parks/AFPAboriginal people remain the most disadvantaged Australians, with higher rates of poverty, ill-health and imprisonment than any other community.
Aboriginal people remain the most disadvantaged Australians, with higher rates of poverty, ill-health and imprisonment than any other community.
Australia Day is also celebrated across the county, with picnics, traditional Aboriginal performances and citizenship ceremonies, where more than 16,000 new Australians pledged their commitment to the nation Saturday.
Reader Comments
ffs, know your history..
They helped native cultures with irrigation,gardening etc etc
The next lot,from the UK were the complete opposite.
Cpt Cook got cooked because those natives tired of his uppity nature and greed
They lived on a continent as one in harmony with varying ecology, from desert to lush tropical green lands. for at least 50,000years.
All that changed when ...who was that guy Captain Cook, with all his ideas of how he saw the vision of the world, full of British ideology of the "Crown" (the current European ideology of the day) looks similar to the neocons of today.
And the indigenous people, that taught the "colonists" how to live in a brave new world they had never experienced before, were killed and slaughtered to make way for that brave new world of the colonists
Full of gardens and irrigation, And the the thing is the indigenous people, no longer manage the land they had occupied for 50,000 years with care and harmony.
they are relegated to as some have described them as nothing more than cretins with an IQ of less than 70
I wonder who are the cretins.when a culture that has managed to survive, for 50,000 years over the tumultuous history of the world in that time fame, and we can barely think that the world as we know it can survive for what 20, 30 , 40 years...let's go even better 100 years