Hello, it's Bryce here, and welcome to another episode of From the Vault, where we dive into the archives and dust off a Squiz Kids classic for your listening pleasure.
And today's shortcut is a rolled gold Squiz Kids classic, and its resurfacing has been perfectly timed for tomorrow's national holiday, Australia Day.
January 26 means different things to different people in Australia, and this podcast explains how and why it was chosen as the date to celebrate the birth of modern Australia and how and why it's considered a less-than-happy day for many thousands of Aussies.
We live in an ancient land, after all, and part of the challenge of being a youngish country is working out who we are and what national days of commemoration like this one mean to us.
Let's call this episode Food for Thought.
Enjoy.
This is a Squiz Kids podcast.
Your fresh take on what's happening in the world around you.
It started as a celebration of freedom for ex-convicts.
It's been known as Landing Day, Foundation Day, Invasion Day and Survival Day.
And it was only in 1994 that it became official.
This is your Squiz Kids shortcut to Australia Day the podcast where we dive into the who what when where, why and how of the big news stories.
I'm Amanda Bower.
And I'm Bryce Corbett.
On January 26, 1788...
The English commander of the First Fleet of White Settlers in Australia, a man called Captain Arthur Phillip, raised the Union Jack, which is the British flag, in Sydney Cove, which is now better known as Circular Quay, on Sydney Harbour, and claimed Australia as a colony for England.
Today we'll take you through how January 26 became the official Australia Day holiday, why it's a day of celebration for some, but also a difficult day for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and what different people do to mark the occasion.
Listen carefully, there's a squiz at the end.
How?
So Bryce, I'll have to admit that I was a bit confused when I read that it was only in 1994 that January 26 became the official Australia Day public holiday in every Australian state and territory.
I know, right?
Me too.
I thought Australia Day as a public holiday had been around forever.
Certainly, as far back as I can remember, Australia Day was always that day that Aussies took the day off work, got together for barbecues and picnics or huddled around town squares and country towns or lined the foreshore of Sydney Harbour to watch the big firework displays.
But officially, as a national celebration, it's only 30 years old this year.
Yeah, so way back in the early days of European settlement, after that first fleet had arrived, January 26 was referred to in newspapers as Landing Day and also Foundation Day.
So the convicts on that first fleet of ships.
They were all sentenced to serve time in the massive jail that we now call home Australia.
Yep.
And many of them were sentenced for pretty minor crimes.
And once they finished their sentences, a lot of them decided to stay.
They were known as emancipists, emancipation meaning freedom.
So they began their free lives in Australia and they celebrated on January 26 with anniversary dinners.
Ah, interesting.
And today, what is the point of Australia Day today?
What's it meant to be celebrated?
Well, I guess a lot of people think of it as the birthday of modern Australia, if you like.
Lots of countries around the world have a national day.
In France they have the 14th of July or Bastille Day, which marks the anniversary of the revolution in 1789.
Vive la France!
In the United States, they have the 4th of July, which is called Independence Day.
Happy 4th of July.
And that marks the date that the American colonies announced to Britain that they were breaking away.
And in India, interestingly enough, they celebrate Republic Day on January 26, same day as Australia Day.
And in India they have parades, flags are raised and people all over the country enjoy a day off work.
Wow, there you go.
But here in Australia, January 26, marking the date the first white settlers arrived, is not exactly a cause for celebration for everyone, is it?
No, definitely not.
Let's explore some of the reasons why Australia Day is a painful day for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
For almost as long as there have been white settlers in Australia, many Aboriginal people have considered January 26 as a day of mourning.
That's mourning spelled M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G, which means showing your grief and sadness.
Yeah, and historians estimate Australia's Indigenous people have lived on this land for over 40000 years.
It's widely considered that Australia's Aboriginal culture is the oldest continuous culture on the entire planet, which is extraordinary and something we should all celebrate.
Of course, white settlement caused many problems for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
The settlers brought disease.
Some white settlers killed the Indigenous people who were on the lands that they claimed, and sometimes Aboriginal children were taken away from their families and never got to see them again.
Yeah, so for them.
To see people having barbecues and playing cricket and celebrating the arrival of Europeans in Australia well, that's painful.
Yeah.
Aboriginal people weren't even allowed to vote in elections until 1967, even though their families had been here for over 40000 years.
And still today there's what the government calls this gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Yeah, they have a shorter life expectancy, poorer health, lower levels of education and employment.
So, you know, not a whole lot for them to celebrate.
Yeah.
So, as we look at what different people do to mark the occasion of Australia Day, let's start with our first Australians.
What?
Some Indigenous Australians call January 26th Survival Day, and a survival concert has been held in Sydney since 1992 to celebrate the fact that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture and people have survived despite the hardships that they continue to face.
And There are survival day events held all over Australia, often with great music from the world's oldest civilization.
Yeah, and on the same day, a lot of people are becoming new Australians, right?
Yeah, that's right.
Australia is what's called a multicultural country, meaning that Australians come from lots of different countries all over the world.
It's one of the great things about modern Australia.
And after spending a certain number of years living here, many of those people choose to become Australian citizens.
And a citizenship ceremony is when someone from another country officially becomes an Aussie, which gives them the right to vote and have an Australian passport.
So it's a pretty exciting and meaningful moment in their lives.
And then, of course, there are the Australian of the Year Awards.
Yeah, that also happens the night before January 26th.
Yeah.
And then, as you mentioned before, Australians all over the country celebrate or commemorate January 26 by getting together with family, going to the beach, attending live music concerts, all sorts of events.
I'll pop another link to the Australia Day Council's website into your episode notes so you can search for events near you.
Cool.
Now Amanda, we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't say that some people want to change the date of Australia Day.
Now, why is that?
Well, that kind of brings us back to the Aboriginal experience.
Some people call January 26 Invasion Day and they hold protest marches on January 26 and they just want the celebration of modern Australia to just be on a different day.
Right.
And how many Australians are in favour of changing that date?
Well, according to polls, about 28 of all Australians would like to change the date of Australia Day, which means that 72 are okay with it staying on January 26.
Now I have to say the funniest suggestion for the date that it should be changed to is for May 8, because that sounds like mate.
You can't get much more Australian than that.
I love that idea.
Time for the quiz.
This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you've been listening.
Question number one.
What's the name of the British naval commander who planted the Union Jack flag in Sydney Cove on January 26 1788?
That's right.
It was Captain Arthur Phillip.
Oh, that was a curly one.
Question two.
Why is May 8 one suggestion for a different date for Australia Day?
Mate, don't tell me you forgot already.
Question number three.
What award is announced the day before Australia Day?
Yeah, it's the Australian of the Year Award.
That's all we have time for today.
Thanks for joining us as we explored the who, what, how, where, when and why of Australia Day.
Now get out there and have a most excellent day.
Over and out.
