By Troy Brown
January 26 is a day of mixed feelings and emotions for many people.
I’m sure most people know the history around this day.
For some it’s a day of celebration. For many it’s a day of pain and agony.
This day is known to the government as Australia Day. However, to others the day is known as Invasion Day, Survival Day and more.
January 26 marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove, and the raising of the Union Jack of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip.
Speaking with mob around community, I have realised there are different opinions on what January 26 means to them.
This day is a day of discomfort and eeriness for most First Nations Peoples.
Some mob celebrate it, some don’t mind it, or some hate it.
The date on which Australia Day is set has been a topic for a while.
Now the Commonwealth of Australia wasn’t declared as Australia until January 1, 1901, also known as Federation Day.
So, for many people it’s confusing to see why Australia Day is on the day it is.
Sitting and thinking about what this day means to me, I couldn’t really come up with a solid answer.
But I’ve thought about what it would have been like to live in Australia before settlement.
What it meant to get along with your brothers and sisters, to be one with each other.
It took me a long time to realise the land that is Australia had been here for many years before colonisation.
To me, Australia isn’t meant to be celebrated on one day, it’s everyday we should be grateful to live on the land we call home, as I’m sure my ancestors before me cherished what we now call Australia for millenniums.
I know that many people have different opinions on this day.
I think this day should be a day where we all come together as First Nations Peoples and be there for each other, to help and guide each other, or even to acknowledge and check up on each other’s wellbeing.
Because I know many people are hurting.
For those interested in learning more about the history of Australia Day, and some research around people’s opinions about the date, this webpage has some good information.
I got asked to write a poem about Australia Day at school a few years back and here it is.
January 26, by Troy Brown
On the 26th, the flags wave high,
But we hear a different song, a silent cry.
For while the country celebrates and cheers,
We hold in our hearts centuries of tears.
This land, our land has seen us rise,
Long before the strangers’ skies.
We walked the earth with wisdom deep,
But the winds of change, they cut and sweep.
Australia Day, they call it now,
But we ask you to pause, and wonder how?
How can we celebrate, when it’s our pain
That echoes through the wind and rain?
On this day, the first ships came,
Bringing with them sorrow, not fame.
We were here, with our stories wide,
But they arrived with laws that pushed us aside.
Our lands were taken, our voices erased,
Yet through the hurt, our spirits still trace
the Dreaming, the dance, the songs we keep,
In the land we cherish, in the soil so deep.
This day, for us, is not a cheer,
But a time to remember, to reflect and hear
The stories of loss, of battles fought,
of all the things that time has forgot.
We ask you now, as you stand and wave,
To listen, to learn, and to be brave.
For healing begins when we all can see,
The truths that live in our history.
It’s not about blame, it’s about respect,
For the past we share, and the future we protect.
Australia is ours, yours and mine
But only through understanding, will we truly shine.