Good Moring Mrs Davies and class,
Celebrating our national day on the date of British settlement in 1788 has never been a date that brings all Australians together, no matter how many flags we wave or happy barbecues we may enjoy. For many Indigenous Australians, the date is no holiday but a reminder of their country being taken over by others. It completely disrupted a way of life that had been undisturbed for 50,000 years. The date of Australia Day is a disrespectful celebration towards aboriginal Australians.
Firstly, the meaning of the celebration is disrespectful to aboriginals and the date should be changed or the meaning of celebration reconsidered. It is one thing to acknowledge the fact of invasion; it is quite another to celebrate it. Australia reveres its fallen warriors at Gallipoli nearly 100 years ago with monuments and public holidays, and prime ministers attend funerals of each digger killed in Afghanistan. Yet Australian history is blind to the massacres of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Aborigines massacred in the fight for aboriginal lands. There are no monuments and no holidays for the fallen victims of the coming of the whites. Mick Dodson, the Australian of the year, asked prime minister at the time, Kevin Rudd, about the timing of our national holiday in relation to …show more content…
National days usually mark the birthing of nationhood, which in Australia’s case was 1901. It is understandable this date is avoided because the original Constitution declared that Aborigines were not to be counted as citizens, and therefore denied the vote among other rights. Australia is the only country that relies on the arrival of Europeans on its shores as being so significant it should herald the official national day. The USA does not choose the arrival of Christopher Columbus as the date for its national day. Like many other countries its national day marks
Celebrating our national day on the date of British settlement in 1788 has never been a date that brings all Australians together, no matter how many flags we wave or happy barbecues we may enjoy. For many Indigenous Australians, the date is no holiday but a reminder of their country being taken over by others. It completely disrupted a way of life that had been undisturbed for 50,000 years. The date of Australia Day is a disrespectful celebration towards aboriginal Australians.
Firstly, the meaning of the celebration is disrespectful to aboriginals and the date should be changed or the meaning of celebration reconsidered. It is one thing to acknowledge the fact of invasion; it is quite another to celebrate it. Australia reveres its fallen warriors at Gallipoli nearly 100 years ago with monuments and public holidays, and prime ministers attend funerals of each digger killed in Afghanistan. Yet Australian history is blind to the massacres of tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Aborigines massacred in the fight for aboriginal lands. There are no monuments and no holidays for the fallen victims of the coming of the whites. Mick Dodson, the Australian of the year, asked prime minister at the time, Kevin Rudd, about the timing of our national holiday in relation to …show more content…
National days usually mark the birthing of nationhood, which in Australia’s case was 1901. It is understandable this date is avoided because the original Constitution declared that Aborigines were not to be counted as citizens, and therefore denied the vote among other rights. Australia is the only country that relies on the arrival of Europeans on its shores as being so significant it should herald the official national day. The USA does not choose the arrival of Christopher Columbus as the date for its national day. Like many other countries its national day marks