In recent memory the 26th of January otherwise known as Australia Day or Invasion Day depending on a person’s cultural awareness has become a day marked by hostility, division, and insensitivity. However, simply changing the date as the increasingly defining calls will inevitably achieve is a simplistic and potentially harmful outcome. Instead, it falls to us the current generation of Australians, decedent from all the corners of the globe to turn the 26^th of January, into something that represents our history, our multicultural heritage, and our respect for Indigenous Australia. We should not hide from the challenge of making this a day of remembrance while potentially finding another for celebration. It is a day founded on historical significance, a day to recognise the decision of people to join our country but also a day to remember the dispossession of Indigenous Australians and the beginning of centuries of genocide.

The 26^th of January marks the day in 1788 that Captain Arthur Phillip and the first fleet of 11 British ships arrived and founded the first colony of NSW at Sydney Cove. This was a mammoth undertaken as 1420 Convicts, Marines and their families travelled for 252 days away from their home to start a new life in a world they could not have imagined. While many left England as criminals, forcibly removed from their country, they found on these distant shores a new life, one where through demanding work and determination they could start again. It was through these humble beginnings at Sydney cove that the rest of the colonies followed when Lieutenant John Bowen in 1803 was sent from NSW to establish the settlement of Hobart the same destination that John Bateman would later sail from to establish Melbourne on the Banks of the Yarra River in 1835. These are not the only cities in Australia that can trace their beginnings to the arrival of the first fleet as in 1824 the governor of NSW established a penal settlement along the banks of the Brisbane River, and it was from Sydney that James Stirling set out on his Swan River expedition to pave the way for the foundation of Perth in 1827. Undeniably the 26^th of January marks the very birth of modern Australia as these settlements would grow to form the colonies whom out of a building sense of national identity starting in 1867 pushed the British government to pass the Commonwealth of Australia constitution Act in 1900, 33 years after they identified themselves as Australian. Obviously, we shouldn’t be proud of everything that followed the arrival of the first fleet or even the actions of the specific individuals responsible for these events it is undeniable a significant date in our history which inexplicably led to the formation of a nation.

More than this it is significant for the atrocities committed because of colonization. Starting with the deceleration of Australia as “Terre Nullius” and the original steps to establish the colony at Sydney Cove to the desecration of the land that has followed. To the genocide that has been committed against the indigenous population from the lives lost in the massacres spanning from 1790 until as resent as the 1920s and removals of generations of children in an effort to breed out indigenous Australians.

The resulting intergenerational trauma of these actions with those affected growing up without their family, disconnected from their culture, stripped of their language, and name. Unfortunately, it is this loss of identity that is passed on to future generations along with the trauma of their ancestors’ treatment. Alongside these memories is the flow-on cost that such trauma brings including substance abuse, violence, and abandonment all of which contributes to the ongoing disparity in key areas including education, incarceration, life expectancy and poverty. Yet, it continues in the pervasive racism that is ingrained in our society highlight by the fact that footballs like Eddie Betts regardless of their profile constantly face discrimination or the increasing toxicity of the growing debate over the voice to parliament with attempts to spread fearmongering and misinformation. All of this and countless other acts which were once described as “black marks” or “Blemishes” in our history stem from the landing on the 26th of January which is highlighted through the term invasion day. Now many assume that this means that we should ‘change the date’ out of respect but this is the crux of my argument, the problem is not in marking the day but rather the way it is marked as a celebration.

However, there is another group of Australians that are often left out of this discussion as neither British descendant nor complicit in the crimes of past generations. Since the gold rush Australia has become a rich and multicultural nation with people from a variety of backgrounds. Whether it is those fleeing the ravishes of the World War in Europe to our more local neighbours in Southeast Asia or Pacific Islands and those displaced by resent conflicts in the middle east we are all Australian. These migrants, for many of us our parents and grandparents, have benefit from the arrival of the first fleet but in many cases have also experienced suffering and even the effects of racism brought on by the white Australia Policy, yet they have chosen to call Australia home. It is these migrants that have chosen over almost 80 years on the 26th of January to become Australian citizens in ceremonies around the country. In 2014, we welcomed a record of 17,863 new Australian’s and since 1949 when the tradition begun more than almost 5 million people have become citizens on Australia Day. While this is changing in 2023 for many citizens it will always be the day their long and difficult journeys ended, and they found themselves a new home.

It is therefore obvious that the 26th of January is the most significant day in Australian history both fundamentally as the first moment in the establishment of a nation but more importantly to the individual and cultural impact it has on diverse groups in society. Based on this the day needs to be marked however it should not be celebrated as is current practice yet also marking the 26th of January universally as invasion day while an accurate representation for our indigenous community doesn’t recognize the experience of migrants. More importantly such a powerfully negative term would also only serve to create more division, now many might not care about this, but this will create anger and lead to more hatred which pushes us in the wrong direction. To come together as a nation, we need to form the 26th of January into a day that recognises the complexity of our history and the different perspectives of all the groups in our society. This starts with the name, something like National Day of Remembrance would work as it has a more respectful tone and echoes the National Day of Morning movement and yet Remembrance is broad enough to encapsulate other experience. The next and perhaps more difficult step would be to move away from marking the day with celebration but with acts of observance, reflection, and education however this might be more easily achieved by settling on an additional public holiday to become our day to celebrate, the 29th of March as the election of the first Australian parliament for instance. This is an idealistic proposal and is not the simplest solution but has the best potential outcome as we act to try and bring different groups together and embrace an opportunity to build awareness of our history.

Whether this solution would work it is clearly time we had a real discussion about the 26th of January not just a repetitive back and forth. It’s time that we engage with each other and recognised a range of viewpoints rather than yelling. It is time for us to come together, remember the past and focus on healing for the future. It could be exactly what this country needs.