His statue in Melbourne was covered in red paint but Captain James Cook has very little to do with us celebrating Australia Day on January 26.
He landed in Botany Bay on April 28, 1770, and he didn’t stay long.
The First Fleet arrived in Botany Bay on January 18, 1788.
Governor Phillip rejected Botany Bay as being suitable for a settlement due to its lack of fresh water and infertile soil, choosing instead to sail north into what he named Port Jackson, arriving there on January 26.
Is this why we celebrate Australia Day on January 26? Wasn’t it the so called ‘Birth of a Nation?’
No, Not Really
The 26th was chosen as Australia Day for a different reason; however, Captain Cook’s landing was included in Australia Day celebrations as a reminder of a significant historical event.
Since the bicentenary celebrations of 1988, when Sydneysiders decided Captain Cook’s landing should become the focus of the Australia Day commemoration, the importance of this date for all Australians has been hijacked by the media and self-interest groups.
The media, as usual, is happy to twist the truth for the sake of controversy – it sells more papers.
Our politicians have not been advertising the real reason for Australia Day and our educators have not been teaching our children the importance of January 26 to all Australians. It makes me wonder if they really know.
The Real Reason
On January 26, 1949, the Australian nationality came into existence when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was enacted. It was the day we were first called Australians and allowed to travel with Passports as Australians.
Under the Nationality Act 1920, all Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders born after January 1, 1921, gained the status of British subjects.
In 1949, therefore, they automatically became Australian citizens under the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948.
It was the day First Nations people were called Australians.
Now, a generation later, the real reason for celebrating is all but lost.
In recent years, the media has helped fan the flames of discontent among the Aboriginal community. Many are now so offended by what they see as a celebration of the beginning of the darkest days of Aboriginal history, they want the date changed.
Various local Councils are seeking to remove themselves from Australia Day celebrations, even refusing to participate in citizenship ceremonies and calls are going out to have Australia Day on a different day.
Why has the Government allowed this misconception to continue?
We became our own people
The reality is, Aborigines in this country suffered terribly at the hands of British colonialism. This is as much Australia’s history as the landing of the first fleet and both should be remembered, equally. Both should be taught, side by side, in our schools.
Australians of today abhor what was done under British governance to the Aborigines. I am disgusted by the acts of violence, unpunished murder, rape, assaults and dispossession undertaken by the British after their arrival in the new colony.
We abhor what was done under British governance to the Irish and many other cultures around the world (and not only by the British either). So, after the horrors of WWII, we decided to fix it.
Before January 26, 1949, all people living in Australia, including Aborigines born after 1921, were called ‘British Subjects’ and had to travel on British Passports and fight in British wars.
We all became Australians on the same day!
Therefore, we celebrate Australia Day on January 26!
This is why January 26 is the day new Australians receive their citizenship. It is a day which celebrates the implementation of the Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948 – the Act which gave freedom and protection to the First Australians and gives all Australians, old and new, the right to live under the protection of Australian Law, united as one nation.
We need to remember both the good and the bad in our history, but the emphasis must be the freedom and unity all Australians now have, because of what was done on January 26, 1949, to allow all of us to live without fear in a land of peace.
Isn’t it time all Australians were taught the real reason we celebrate Australia Day on January 26th?
Australia was founded by Christians but became a brutal colony under British rule. Unfortunately, it’s history and we can’t return to the past and stop the brutality.
What we can do is acknowledge the history, accept it wasn’t right and do all we can to unite Australians as one nation under God.
John Skinner served as an infantry soldier in Vietnam then the Tasmanian Police before taking up the position of CEO of the Australian Rough Riders Association (professional rodeo based in Warwick Qld). Before retirement to his small farm, he was a photo-journalist for 25 years. He is married with 3 children and 7 grandchildren.
