Australia Day is celebrated each year on January 26.
January 26 is the date in 1788 when the first white people arrived in ships.
Australia Day is a holiday everywhere in Australia.
Aboriginal people do not want this day to be special because their land was taken.
The First Fleet arrives
On January 26, 1788, a fleet of 11 ships under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip arrived at Sydney Cove. On board the ships, which became known as the First Fleet, were sailors, soldiers and convicts from England. From 1804 onwards, the people of the colony celebrated the day.
Captain Arthur Phillip raises the British flag at Sydney Cove. January 26, 1788. Photo: State Library of NSW
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January 26 was made a national Australia Day holiday in 1994. There are flag raising ceremonies all around the country and it is a day on which which many migrants (people from other countries who want to live in Australia) become Australian citizens at Citizenship Ceremonies.
Each year a person is named Australian of the Year on January 26.
Read about all of the Australians of the Year:
https://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/recipients
Australia Day is a day to celebrate everything that is good about Australia and to think about what can be done to make life in Australia better for everyone.
Australia Day and First Nation Australians
Some First Nation Australians (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples) do not celebrate Australia Day because they believe that January 26, 1788 was the day when white people invaded their land. Many call the day Survival Day. Because of these feelings, there are many people think that it would be better if Australia Day was celebrated on a different date so that ALL Australians could celebrate with pride and respect.
What do you think? This might be something you could discuss at school
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read about different opinions about the date of Australia Day
https://kids.kiddle.co/Australia_Day
https://kidskonnect.com/history/australia-day/
Watch a video giving the First Nations’ perspective. It asks a question at the end: what would your answer be, and why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=1RfRTXpRnHQ
What about Captain Cook?
The place chosen for the Australian penal (prison) colony had been made after a report, made 18 years earlier, by Captain James Cook. Cook had mapped the east coast of Australia and sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1770. Later, when the British government wanted to find a place to send convicts because of the overcrowded prisons, it was Cook’s report that persuaded them Australia might be a good place to start the colony.
Read about Captain Cook (you need to scroll down on the first link)
https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/tag/captain-james-cook/
https://www.natgeokids.com/au/discover/history/general-history/captain-cook/
