Today is Australia Day, a public holiday in…Australia! As January 26th (Australia Day) falls on a Sunday this year, Australia Day is celebrated today – Monday. It marks the arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales on that date in 1788, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain by Captain Arthur Phillip.
Captain Arthur Phillip became the first Governor of the colony of New South Wales and the fledgling colony soon began to celebrate the anniversary of their arrival. In the bi-centenary year, 1988, Australia Day was held around the nation on January 26th. The highlight of the many celebrations was a re-enactment of the First Fleet’s trip which departed from Portsmouth on May 13th 1987 and arrived in Australia in early January.Debate about its appropriateness as a national day of celebration stems from the landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, is seen as a date that marked the beginning of British colonization of Aboriginal land.
The day usually sees protests in cities across Australia. Protests against the day date back well before the adoption of the national holiday in 1994. A Day of Mourning and Protest was held in Sydney in 1938, organized by the Aborigines Progressive Association. Indigenous groups refer to the date as Invasion Day with some Australians from various cultural backgrounds choosing to opt out of celebrating the occasion.
Hmmm….
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Saturday was Burns Day.
Today is the birthday, in 1944, of Kevin Coyne, singer, songwriter, film-maker, and a writer of lyrics, stories and poems. In the mid-1970s, prior to the formation of The Police, Coyne’s band included guitarist Andy Summers. Coyne died on 2nd December 2004. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T1c7GkzRQQ
