For everyone in Australia, we are fast approaching the most tension-fuelled day of the year, Australia Day. Whilst in many countries around the world, there are days of Independence, and days to celebrate their country which everyone enjoys, in Australia our day is always filed with controversy.
The reason for the controversy comes from the date, January 26. The day that the First Fleet arrived in Australia and changed the lives of the native people on the land forever. This is the day that we choose to celebrate every year, not the day that we became our own country, but the day that the first white man settled on the land. What followed this day was mass genocide of the indigenous people, the effects which are still being felt today.
I am not an indigenous person, so I admit, I am not the most educated of people about the impacts that white settlement has had on their culture. For years I celebrated Australia Day in ignorance, without realising that this day was a problem for so many. I have to be thankful to the people that are finally speaking up, who are raising their voices, because without them I would have no idea of the day’s impact on them.
Now that people are becoming aware of the issues, though, the tide is turning. More and more people are calling to #changethedate. There is basically one demographic that is choosing to resist this, and they are the most powerful. Yes, you guessed it, it is the white man. The white man who feels threatened for anyone ever thinking that one of his kind might have done the wrong thing. They feel scared to admit that another white man could ever make a mistake, or make a bad decision, so they continue to bury their head in the sand. Don’t get me wrong, not all white men are like this, just mainly the ones in power in our country, particularly some of our politicians.
We always make a big deal about our ‘multiculturalism’ and I grew up believing in that. Believing that as an Australian we are a diverse community, not realising the irony that in my small country town, everyone was either white or indigenous, and our indigenous people for the most part were doing it pretty rough. We had no multiculturalism, but yet I believed the messaging around me. As a kid you don’t know any different, and you listen to what the adults are telling you. You think that Australia Day is an important day and we have to stick with it, without realising there could be another way. I only hope that now as an adult, I can educate other kids as to what the right way is, and hopefully others around me can do the same.
All hope is not lost though, plenty of people are making positive changes. For instance, Triple J (the Australian radio station) now holds their annual ‘Hottest 100’ on another day, the annual lamb ad that often raises eyebrows for its controversy this year took its turn calling for us to change the day, and even at a local level there are many indigenous groups trying to hold events to remember the time before the First Fleet landed and celebrate indigenous culture, such as Enoch being held at Barangaroo Reserve this year on the 25th of January.
We have come such a long way, but there is still so much further to go. We need to find a way to make Australia Day a day that we can all celebrate, instead of one that just white men can celebrate. We need to educate our children so that they are aware, and they can make better decisions. Finally, we all need to stand up for what is right and best for everyone. Instead of saying not our problem, we should stand with our indigenous friends and call for change until finally, we #changethedate.
A Turtle Stranger 