Australia Day is a public holiday falling on January 26th each year, which also happens to be my birthday! We learned in my Aussie Life class that this is a day of much contention, likened to the American Columbus Day, as it is established as the day in 1788 that the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay to colonize the land. Our teacher explained to us that for some Australians, it is a day of celebrations, barbecues, and parties, but for Aboriginals and Torres Strait islanders, it’s referred to as “Invasion Day.”
I started the day with a chocolate dessert breakfast at Max Brenner (chocolate is one of my favorite foods so I couldn’t resist). Then, Alexa, Jackson, and I headed to Bondi Beach to get some sun since it was such a beautiful day out. This beach is probably the most popular and tourist-y out of them all in Sydney so it is often busy, but it was extra busy today given that it was a holiday weekend. I definitely got more sun than I had planned and I was super burnt despite putting on so much sunscreen. This just goes to show how strong the UV rays are here!
Since it was my birthday and we wanted to celebrate, my friends and I booked a boat trip on the harbor to watch the sunset and fireworks. I think they overbooked it by about 100 people because all of the outdoor decks were super crowded. At one point we waited in a non-moving line for at least 30 minutes trying to get onto the top deck before giving up and moving out onto the tiny one at the stern of the boat. We were surrounded by people who did not seem dismayed by the dark side of this holiday. I’m of the camp that it isn’t wrong to enjoy yourself on a holiday when the city is putting on so many festivities as long as you recognize and think about the impact of the day through a critical lens.
Participating in Australia Day celebrations provided me with critical opportunities to reflect on my part in what this day means to so many natives who had their home stolen. Some people think that it is inappropriate to celebrate the anniversary of the creation of a new nation that also took so much from those that were there first. A lot of what I saw today reminded me of the Fourth of July – the fireworks, partying, beach-going, the fact that it’s summer – but January 26th is not the Australian equivalent of Independence Day from British colonial rule. Rather, it marks the day that European colonization began on Australian land, land that belonged to the Aboriginals first.
AWWWWW Love the Birthday recap!!!!!!