Without a Treaty, Australia Day Will Always Be Invasion Day
For Indigenous Australians, Australia Day commemorates nothing but the invasion of their territories. While the Change the Date campaign gathers momentum, only a Treaty can begin to address the trauma and bloodshed of British settlement.
A boat with an Indigenous flag on Sydney Harbour before Australia Day formalities on January 26, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. Cole Bennetts / Getty
It is rapidly becoming a national tradition to return from the Christmas summer holidays and plunge headfirst into the contentious debate over the date of “Australia Day,” our day of national celebration.
The twenty-sixth of January is significant because it marks the anniversary of the arrival of the convict-laden first fleet of ships at Port Jackson. It also commemorates Governor Arthur Phillip raising the British flag at Sydney Cove. It was with this act that British sovereignty was proclaimed over Australia’s eastern seaboard.
That moment was a declaration of war on my people, the oldest continuous living culture in the world (at least 120,000 years). This is why we call Australia Day “Invasion Day.” For us, it is a day of mourning.
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