Invasion Day: 'Worst date ever'

The best date ever to highlight the worst date to have as Australia's national day is of course 26 January, Australia's official national day.

It marks the day in 1788 that Captain Phillip and his First Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour to start the British penal colony. They'd arrived at their intended destination, Botany Bay, a few days earlier, but found it to be without drinking water, so relocated.

To the indigenous population 26 January thus marks the start of the invasion and colonisation of their lands.

Over the years it's become the thing to mark the day with rallies and marches, and other symbolic events to draw attention to their continuing plight. It's got to the stage where the Invasion Day events in Australia's capital cities are almost overshadowing the mainstream celebratory events. A major theme this year has been the 'Change the Date' movement, highlighting all the other dates when Australians could all come together and celebrate their nation without offending a rather essential core group of them. Needless to say, the major political parties have yet to come to grips with this, and for now are happy to be on the losing side of history.







I attended the Sydney event, which started with a rally at 'The Block' at Redfern, and then became a march through city streets to Camperdown. It was a big deal.






As one of the speakers noted, there wasn't a conventional Australian flag to be seen in this crowd. I noticed too that when I strolled back through the city through the usual Australia Day crowds doing their more usual Australia Day strollings, a large proportion of them were carrying Aboriginal flags as well as the conventional ones.

"No Walls, no fear, refugees are welcome here"

An excellent little gathering yesterday in Hyde Park, followed by a march to the US Consulate in Martin Place.

It was organised by the Refugee Action Coalition Sydney. It was in support of the refugees detained in Australia's offshore detention camps, of bringing them here at last, and it was to denounce both Donald Trump and Malcolm 'Trumble' for their respective crimes against refugees and race relations.

Colourful isn't the word for these occasions. And the wit and humour on display was priceless. It's such a pity it's all so serious too though.

The thin blue line at the MLC Centre. The police are always pretty good on these occasions. And if there was anyone home in the Consulate, I feel a bit sorry for them. Not only do they suddenly have a thousand chanting natives outside,  but they also have a childish, ignorant, malignant narcissist oaf to report to!

I must admit, it took me a while for the subtle brilliance of the sign below to sink in!

Invasion Day

"Always was, always will be......... Aboriginal land". The continuous chant was loud, the numbers were large, and it made an interesting and meritorious alternative to the usual Australia Day attractions. The Invasion Day march went from the Block in Redfern into the city.

  
There were an awful lot of police officers on duty for it, a lot of them with video cameras. As far as I'm aware there weren't any untoward incidents requiring any subsequent use of the footage.

From the pointy political end of the issue, on to the softer sell. I walked back to Victoria Park in Camperdown, where the annual Yabun Festival of aboriginal culture was being held. 'Yabun', by the way, means 'music to a beat', and there was lots of music, plus traditional dancing demonstrations, and information and other stalls selling T shirts with the message below.

The Australia Day vs Invasion Day dichotomy comes up every year. And so it should. At least until they move Australia Day to the first of January, to commemorate the founding of Australia in 1901, rather than the day in 1788 that the British officers of the First Fleet erected a flagpole at Sydney Cove and declared New South Wales as a British colony. (This was almost a week after they arrived in Botany Bay, by the way.)

It's good anyway to see that the mainstream Australia Day organisers are incorporating indigenous performers and ceremonies into the proceedings too. Here's Jessica Mauboy singing the national anthem in the Gadigal (Sydney) language on top of the Harbour Bridge. Click here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g61BocUcss0

Sydney's biggest ever climate march

Estimates of precise numbers varied, as ever, with published figures ranging from 3000 to 60,000! I was there, and I'd put it somewhere in the middle. It was definitely big though, and it was colourful, and very uplifting.

There were groups from churches, political parties, local action groups, solar power aficionados, and health professionals. There was even a small pro-nuclear group, and two (brave?) chaps whose banners just read < coal / >.  (I've no idea what that means exactly, or whether they were pro or anti coal. Note to placard writers: don't get too cryptic!)

There was music, there were speeches from some very worthy personages, and there were giant and horribly realistic versions of Tony 'King Coal' Abbott and Malcolm 'Innovate' Turnbull to scare the children.

We eventually marched from the Domain rallying place down to the Opera House, where the giant polystyrene politicians could scare the tourists too.

We'd been asked to colour code ourselves by dress choice, and march in our coloured blocks. I chose white, which was the designated colour for medicos and scientists. Several of my fellow marchers carried giant cardboard mosquitoes, signifying presumably malaria and suchlike diseases we can look forward to in a warmer Australia.