Tomorrow marks the national day of celebration for Australia. For me Australia is a place of adventure, bird calls and the smell of sunburnt grass and crushed native leaves. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of swimming between the flags, setting up at a public barbecue or running under a front yard sprinkler. Although typically Australian, I've rarely engaged with these kind of activities during Australia Day. Unless invited by a family friend, my family haven't been the kind to celebrate the 26th of January.
Wherever I travel I'm always nostalgic for the vast beauty of Australia, the greens, browns, reds and blues. However, this beauty didn't come without pain. Tall gums grow on land that's been fertilised by the suffering of Indigenous people.
The taking of Australia was not peaceful; newspapers dehumanised Indigenous people, teaching the settlers to fear rather than seek to understand. White Australians were given permission, by colonial governments, to take up arms against the Indigenous, which created an uncontrollable, impulsive war based on fear and hate.
Today, the misrepresentation continues; Australian has been creating false national heroes since it’s foundation; beginning with the Australian
bushman, strong and hardworking. The Australian bushman was manufactured in fiction to serve as a nationalist
icon, however was never questioned as to the violence he had committed in order to gain his position as
inhabitant of Australia; presented as the everyday man rather than a soldier.
Then there's the ANZAC, our other nationalist hero. The ANZAC soldier is celebrated for being creative and adaptive, despite their defeat it was their bravery and capability to adapt to a bad situation that makes them our heroes. However the Indigenous soldiers from the frontier don't get half the recognition, celebration or commemoration, despite the similarities (adapting tactics to fight a larger force, bravery, defence of land and beliefs).
However you choose to celebrate, spend a little time reflecting and seeking education about how this land came to be. Connect with the land and with the people who know it best. Seek out Indigenous events, rallies and protests. Live this Australia day with love and respect.
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