Australia Day Research Paper

Earlier this year, thousands of indigenous Australians and activist marched in major cities across Australia, arguing that January 26 shouldn’t be celebrated as its marks a day of mourning for many people.

Many historians disagree on which historical event was key in shaping the Australian identity. Two common answers are Federation, and the fall-out of World War One. Both events have had significant impact on the evolving identity of the Australian people. World War I was a military conflict that lasted for the four years between July 1914 and November 1918. World War One was a force of change due to the nature of Australia's involvement at home and in politics. Prime Minister Billy Hughes came to power just six months after the start of the war. This meant that as a politician, he held a significant sway with the Australian public. Both Hughes and the media influences at the time are key aspects of the Australian identity during the war, and

We Australians must have been very well-behaved over the Australia Day celebrations this year. So much so, that media outlets had to dig deep into the archives to find a story to talk up that would fire up our Australian sense of nationalism.

* This allowance was the equivalent to two weeks' wages for an unskilled worker at the time.

There are many diverse interpretations of the words “Australian Identity”. The national anthem, as evidenced in Stand Up, is a primarily white interpretation of Australia and the Australian identity, with many of the lines ignoring the Indigenous people of Australia (Perkins et al, 2012). Another form of the “Australian Identity” was one presented by Prime Minister Paul Keating in his Redfern Address in 1992. He proclaimed that “Australia is a first-rate social democracy…truly the land of the fair go and the better chance”. This idea presented represents an egalitarian society, where every single human has an equal opportunity at life. Yet another, shown in the songs Paul Kelly sang, but especially in “this land is mine” is the difference between the identity of Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians (Kelly et al, 2001). Each of these texts addressed a major issue. Stand Up compared the relative value of tradition and the right to freedom of expression. Keating’s speech expressed the need for justice and recognition of both the stolen generation and the injustices done to the Indigenous people as a whole. Kelly’s songs represent the importance of the land to Indigenous people and why the “returning of the land” is so important. Although they each mentioned a major issue, the texts all gave solutions to these issues, from reiterating the importance of the basic human right of freedom of speech in Stand Up, to explaining the role and qualities of the Aboriginal

Over the past 230 years, Aboriginals have protested in many different ways to gain rights, which they believe they are deserving of. Through aims of what they wanted to achieve, the processes they went through brought them disappointment over the poor results of some actions and pleasure over the success of others. Over those years, very few periods of protest have been as revelational or effective as the protests occurring between 1938 and 1972. During this period many different groups of Aboriginals have fought for the common cause of being recognised as people rather than interferences caught in the midst of Australians expansion as a nation.

For many January 26th is a day to celebrate Australia and the country it is today but the date is not marked for celebrations for all Australians. For many Aboriginal Australians January the 26th is referred to as ‘survival day’, ‘invasion day’ or the ‘day of mourning ‘it marks the day when the white settlers landed on Australian shores and devastated the lives of the indigenous people who had lived there for thousands of years. The aborigines say “for us it is a day of mourning. This day we lost our land, we lost our spirit culture and we lost our language.”

Australia in the early 1900s has developed a reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’ for its greater opportunity to success and an egalitarian society. However not all workers proved this to be true. In order to determine this statement, Issues to be discussed include firstly the hours of work for different genders, secondly the working conditions and finally the dispute for the right to fair treatment to women and Aboriginal natives throughout the 19th century.

On Wednesday, the 26th January, 1938, a "day of mourning and protest" was proclaimed and Jack Patten, who chaired a meeting of the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), announced, "……. this being the 150th Anniversary of the White man's seizure of our country, [we] hereby make protest against the callous treatment of our people by the white men during the past 150 years, and we appeal to the Australian nation of today to make new laws for the education and care of Aborigines, we ask for a new policy which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community." This proclamation heralded the intention of the Aboriginal people to unite and protest against Government policies that resulted in Indigenous Australians

Australian federation was a main turning point in Australia’s history, not so much for it’s camaraderie and sprit, but to legislate and retaliate against three main concerns that had arose in our developing nation; Australia’s defence, immigration and trade. With the introduction of Federation to Australia, all three problems were fixed, and much more.

Australia day commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of the first fleet on the 26th of January 1788. To some people, it means invasion day, but to others it was the birth of our great nation, and a time to celebrate a fair go.The issue of whether the date of Australia day should be changed has divided the Australian and Aboriginal community, which has caused a matter of intense debate over the years. Calla Wahlquist’s opinion piece, “Australia day: A guide to changing minds without ruining the barbecue” was written in The Guardian newspaper on the 25th of January 2018 Wahlquist argues that the date of Australia day should be changed, calling upon the general public (AUDIENCE). Wahlquist employs an assertive tone throughout her piece, through the use of positive, strong- willed words such as fair and inclusive, shows the reader that the author values her writing as well as exhibits confidence while maintaining respect.

In 1914, Australia had 100,000 Germans and when the first wold war began it was a tough time for the Germans in Australia. Before the war the Germans were actually respected because of the major help they gave to Australia. However when the war began, Germany was known as the enemy for the Australians, and some Australians didn’t relay trust the Germans during that time but they were loyal to Australia.

Now, in 2017, the protests over Australia Day and the history of the country have escalated to a level first seen here in America. Over a week ago, in Sydney’s Hyde Park, the statute there dedicated to Captain James Hook was vandalized. With what is presumed to be spray paint, “no pride in genocide” and “change the date” were written across the statute. Many members of Australia’s nationalist party have spoken out and held their own protests in response to this “heinous” act. They have spoken out how this act is tarnishing the history of Australia and given the country a bad name as well as spreading the positivity of nationalism. The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcom Turnbull called the act, via Facebook, an act of Stalinism, and that Australians

Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?

Australia has always been centered around diversity and change, specifically with the vast multiculturalism and migrant culture throughout the nation. The specifics of Identity hold an important role in shaping our identity as students and as a nation. Australians pride themselves on being a land of the free and full of diverse culture. This is specifically referred to in our national Anthem; “For those who've come across the seas, We've boundless plains to share; With courage let us all combine,”(McCormick, 1984). Displaying Australia’s open attitude towards immigrants and contributes to the diversity present within our society today. Even before this, much of Australia’s Identity was associated with caucasian culture (Originating from British Settlers). Which is the dominant perception of Australia through the media with australian representation being present through the stereotypes of Bogans, which was made popular through shows like Kath and Kim (ABC, 2007). Also, represented through the popular depiction of Australian people - the bushman made popular by movies like Crocodile Dundee (Faiman, 1986) and through famous real life bushman; Steve Irwin. An important aspect of Australian identity which is consistently neglected is the culture and representation of the initial owners of the land; the aboriginal people. Throughout history the constant mistreatment and neglect of the indigenous, has lead to a massive gap in privilege between the aboriginal people and our