Aboriginal organisations in Victoria are demanding a change to Australia Day, arguing that January 26th is not a date to celebrate for First Nations Australians.
In the lead up to January 26th, Aboriginal organisations in Victoria are demanding change, reinforcing the view that it's not a date to celebrate. January 26 is known by most people as Australia Day, and aims to represent the origins of the country. But for First Nations Australians, it's a reminder of many years of discrimination, trauma and dispossession. 'We are sick and tired of feeling unsafe in our own homelands.
Every year we dread the 26 January and the racism and ignorance that comes with it,' says Ngurra Murray, a Wamba Wamba, Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung and Dhudhuroa woman who is the Co-Chair of the First Peoples' Assembly in Victoria. She is one of a number of prominent Indigenous Australians and leaders who say they are supporting a petition for Australia Day to be moved from its current date of January 26th. 'The ripple effects are felt across generations, manifesting into social and economic and health inequalities that still persist today. To celebrate this day without acknowledging the impact is to ignore the pain and resilience of the First Peoples of this land. To change the date is to acknowledge the strength and resilience of our people, who have survived centuries of attempts to erase our culture,' Ngurra Murray adds. The 26th of January was first gazetted as a public holiday in New South Wales, when it was a colony, in 1818. Governor Lachlan Macquarie called it First Landing Day, or Foundation Day, to mark when the First Fleet officially arrived in Australia and the Union Jack flag was raised in Sydney Cove. Once Australia became a federation on January the 1st 1901, a push eventually began to re-establish such a day - this time for the whole country. 26 January was selected as a date in 1935 and was firmly established under the name of Australia Day by 1994, across all the states and territories.Reuben Berg, the other co-chair of the First People's Assembly of Victoria, says First Nations communities want to celebrate with everyone, just not on that day. 'If Australia Day is meant to be a date that all Australians can come together and celebrate, then the 26th of January is not the right date. That's not a date to celebrate.' Many Indigenous Australians choose to spend January 26th in alternative ways. Aunty Lauren Jarrett, from Gumbaynggirr country, says she prefers to connect with nature. 'I also just like taking the dogs for a walk, down the creek for a swim. And then I'll just connect with the trees, lean up against the trees. I believe our ancestors are in the trees, and just communicate with them for a bit. I really don't like being too political. I'd rather do cultural stuff on that day.' Valerie Smith, a Wijabul Warrabul woman, will be attending a Survival Day gathering in Byron Bay. 'They have a big Survival Day gathering on the beach there. Last year I had a stall but this year I'm going to be in the crowd yelling 'always was always will be'. So I am looking forward to just being amongst people. I just celebrate Survival Day. It's so beautiful that we're here - and look how deadly we are.'These types of protests and alternative events have been held by Indigenous Australians every year since 1938.
AUSTRALIA DAY ABORIGINAL VICTORIA INVASION DAY SURVIVAL DAY FIRST NATIONS
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