This Australia Day, celebrate fruits of our pioneers with pride
We must all come together to be thankful for a great nation, writes
AUSTRALIA Day. A day when Australians can come together to celebrate this country of ours.
As all schoolchildren know (or should), January 26, 1788, was when the half English, half German Captain Arthur Phillip arrived with his settlers after a 15,000-mile voyage from Portsmouth, England to Sydney Cove, where he planted the Union Jack. He had moved those who came with him from Botany Bay where they had arrived on January 20. Phillip searched for a site with water and a place to clear the land, erect huts and begin cultivation. He described “The finest harbour in the world in which a thousand sail of the line may ride in perfect security”. The decision to come to that part of the world for near 1400 souls and 11 vessels was based to a great degree on Captain James Cook’s visit to eastern Australia in April 1770, this year being the 250th anniversary. Cook, one of the world’s greatest explorers, landed at Point Hicks before proceeding to Botany Bay. Arriving with Phillip was Betty King, the first white woman in Australia. She is buried at Back River, near New Norfolk.
On January 1, 1901 we became a nation. We would not have become the Australia we know so well if not for Phillip’s landing. What we enjoy has been built on the foundations of those who went before. The people, even to recent times, who endured the sacrifice, bravery, struggle, the enormous challenges, the many setbacks and the failures from which we can learn.
From 1788 to 1901, the six colonies thrived. From when Tasmania received Responsible Government in 1856 and a name change to Tasmania from Van Diemen’s Land, until Federation, tremendous developments allowed Tasmanians to enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world. Convict transportation had ceased several years before. There was progress in industry, farming, fruit growing, communication, railways, the growth of cities, education and recreation. Then came Federation and a new country was born. We began with our own Constitution and with the
Statute of Westminster 1931 became a fully independent country. The passing of the Australia Act in 1986 sealed it. We adopted our own flag on September 3, 1901. As early as the Versailles Treaty of 1919 that ended World War I, we signed the treaty as an independent nation and to the chagrin of Britain, Australia said “no” to the execution of our own soldiers in that war whereas Britain, New Zealand, America, Canada, France and Germany did shoot their soldiers for various offences.
In World War II, we exercised our independence again, when prime minister John Curtin turned to the US for support against the will of British PM Winston Churchill.
We have become the envy of the world, an example of achieving against adversity. Politically we are stable. Economically we are wealthy. On the world stage we are respected. We are still a cohesive society, although there are cracks. We are a freedom-loving country, despite dreadful government legislation at state and federal level that curtails our freedom of thought, speech and movement. The people must fight for that freedom.
Australia Day, January 26, is for all Australians to celebrate, whether one has been here for thousands of years, hundreds of years or a few months. Our Aboriginal heritage is a part of it, with Australia Day endorsed by Aboriginal Alice Springs alderman Jacinta Price, late Aboriginal pastor Cedric Jacobs whom I knew and the late Sir Neville Bonner, the first Aborigine to sit in the Senate. It is time for those of British stock and all others to come together, forgetting our political, racial and social differences, to fly the flag and enjoy that barbecue.
It would be wonderful to see Australian culture dominate. We are rich in bush dancing, folklore, music, bush ballads and poems, art and song. During Australia Day celebrations, mainly organised by municipalities, we see little of this, most resorting to events of a multicultural flavour. It is Australia and while respecting all other cultures, because it is our day let the home culture dominate.
We have much to celebrate. Would you like to live somewhere else? With our thriving cities, our open spaces, our sporting achievements, recreation facilities, lifestyle and our comradeship, I would suggest the answer would be no.