The Hardest Word - Part 4: Australia Day

In a comment on yesterday's post, Chezz-C'tack made a point I also wanted to touch on - is 26 January the most appropriate day to celebrate nationhood?

Well, I'm actually partial to using another day too.  While there's nothing wrong with marking the date that British settlement started, bringing with it (eventually) traditions of government and law that we've adapted over time to generally serve us pretty well since then, here in the 21st century it may be time to move on.  As there are a lot of negative associations for indigenous people, and that it may not hold a great deal of significance for the substantial part of our population who arrived, or had predecessors who arrived here well after original settlement (I'm thinking particularly of the post world war two migration into Australia) it's worth considering alternatives. 

Let's face it, it would need to be a public holiday, which may be problematic for choosing January 1, New Years Day, as the anniversary of Australian Federation.  Though it could work, maybe if we tacked on an extra day.  Federation was quite an achievement for a modern democracy, reading through all the convention transcripts last year really opened up my understanding of how distinctive our system of government, and the way we came to it, actually is.

Perhaps 27 May would be appropriate?  It marks the date that Australians decided to extend Commonwealth constitutional powers, over-riding State laws, to create and implement law benefiting indigenous people (I think the ABSTUDY scheme might be a good example, along with land rights law).  By celebrating this event, a symbolically powerful act where over 90% of the population voted in favour of the amendment (and constitutional amendment in Australia tends to be pretty hard to achieve here for various reasons), we could in effect take the day to celebrate indigenous culture and achievement.

Which I think is what I'll be doing tomorrow with the boy, right after his daily nap.  The National Museum of Australia is having a family day full of activities, demonstrations and whatnot celebrating indigenous culture.  In light of these posts I thought it appropriate, and I'm now really looking forward to the time when R's old enough to start asking questions about our country's indigenous past - both good and bad. 

I think the best thing I can do is to be honest with him.  Yes, some Australian settlers killed indigenous people, and they, too, fought back.  Sometimes with good intentions, and sometimes with bad ones, government officials took the children away. 

But there's a lot for us to learn if we want to, and we have to want to, about country, about this land which simultaneously compels and repels us with fire and flood, sun and rain.  Step out onto the inland plains on a clear night and watch the galaxy for a while.  Go for a swim in a clear water pool and look out for bunyips!  Search for the tell-tale signs of pipis on the beach as the waves run back to the ocean. 

Love where you are and where you come from, because it's special here.  And don't, don't be afraid to say sorry, and to do what you have to do to be able to move on, to grow, to change.  I think that's what I'll have to say, and how I might be able to explain to him the framed photograph with that grinning kid, hanging on my parents bedroom wall.