Australia Day Celebrations

In the country of Australia, January 26 is the public holiday known as Australia Day. This holiday commemorates the day the First Fleet (ships full of convicts and officers) arrived in Sydney's Botany Bay, in 1788, as part of an organized program to purge the British prisons. They found Botany Bay to be unsuitable for habitation, and sailed a little further north to Port Jackson, where they landed on January 26.

Captain Arthur Phillip was the commander of the First Fleet. The Fleet consisted of eleven tall ships, most well known of these ships were the Sirius and the Supply. There were both male and female convicts in the First Fleet, who were given special privileges if they decided to marry and help populate the new land.

The First Fleet had rough trip, and found Australia to be a tough nut to crack. The convicts were put to work building, farming, and trying to build a viable settlement in a very inhospitable, dry land. Many died trying to tame the landscape due to poor food supply, lack of tools, and poor survival skills.

Obviously, some survived, and in the end Australia flourished. Today, Australia is a nation of beautiful coastal cities, a popular tourist destination, and an economic power in it's own right. Each year they celebrate the landing of the First Fleet on Australia Day as one of the most significant points in their history.

Australia Day is one of the most celebrated in Australia, and is observed by all Australian states and territories. The spirit Australia Day is meant to celebrate all things Australian: the people, the land, and looking ahead to a bright future.

Sydney Harbour, in New South Wales, plays a big role in Australia Day celebrations with a flotilla of craft, water cannons blasting, tall ships under sail, fireworks, and the traditional ferry race every year. Two of the ferries are named Sirius and Supply, after the original First Fleet ships.

Most Australian families have an Australia Day barbecue and there are always fireworks at night. Mostly, it's a day of sausages and lamb on the barbecue. The weather is normally hot and clear, so it cries out for a barbecue and a cold beer. Families get together, Aussie flags are waved, and Australia celebrates its many cultures - European, Asian, Islander, Aboriginal and Middle Eastern.

It's a favorite day for first-generation Australians, who have come from other countries, to take their oath of citizenship to become Australian Citizens. When they receive their citizenship certificate, they also receive a gift of a native seedling to plant in their garden and nurture into a tree.

A much-anticipated part of each Australia Day is the Australia Day Honours. Similar to the Queens Birthday Honours, its a system where citizens are nominated for outstanding service or achievement in their field, career, charity, pioneering medical achievement, or sport, and it comes in the form of a medal. Honours include the AC (Companion of the Order of Australia), AO (Office of the Order of Australia), and AM (Member of the Order of Australia).

The Australian of the Year is the most prestigious award offered this day (or any day) in Australia. Quite often won by high-profile sports people and medical pioneers, previous recipients have included Fiona Wood (2005) for pioneering spray-on skin to help burns victims, Steve Waugh (2004) former Australian Cricket Captain, Lt Col Peter Cosgrove (2001) Commander of the Armed Forces and Arthur Boyd (1995), world-renowned artist.

The date of Australia Day has always been controversial, given that it represents the day the white man "invaded" Australia, which at the time was already populated by 300 thousand local aborigines, who held a 40 thousand year history in this land.

Many indigenous Australians still refer to it as "invasion day," although many more accept and embrace the holiday as a celebration of modern Australia, and there have been aboriginal recipients of Australian of the Year award including runner Cathy Freeman and aboriginal musician and actor, Mandawuy Yunupingu.

For many Australians, this is indeed a favored holiday, a time of remembrance and a time of celebrating all things Aussie. They take pride in their humble beginnings, and celebrate how far they have come on Australia Day.