The Story Of Australia Day, The Darkest Day For Aborigines

JAKARTA - Every 26 January, Australians celebrate Australia Day. Many major events are held across the country, such as concerts, beach parties and parades bringing together communities of all cultures. However. How come January 26 was Australia Day?

On 26 January 1788, a captain named Captain Arthur Phillip stepped on Australian soil for the first time. Captain Phillip was sent by the British to guide a fleet of 11 ships to carry prisoners to their colony in New South Wales, which is part of Australia.

Sydney looking great on Australia Day #AusDaySyd # AustraliaDay2020 pic.twitter.com/LikHfHjlqg

- Australia Day (@australiaday) January 26, 2020

At that time, Britain planned to make New South Wales a place of punishment for inmates. Since October 1786, the British government had appointed Arthur Phillip aboard the HMS Sirius and commissioned Arthur to set up an agricultural camp in New South Wales for convicts.

Quoted from History, it was not an easy thing for Phillip to do this task. Phillip is not well aware of the state of New South Wales, leaving him with no ideas and hopes from this mysterious and distant land.

Phillip also experienced great difficulty in forming a fleet that would travel. Phillip proposed an experienced farmer to come with him in order to teach the inmates, but the request was repeatedly refused. Phillip was also poorly funded and ill-equipped.

Despite this, Phillip was accompanied by members of the marines and officers. Phillip led 1,000 people, 700 of whom were convicts. The voyage to Australia took eight months and during the journey, around 30 people died.

We ❤️ Bondi on #AusDaySyd # AustraliaDay2020 pic.twitter.com/2OIypR7Phu

- Australia Day (@australiaday) January 26, 2020

The first years living in New South Wales were disastrous. Poor soil conditions, unusual climate, and workers who knew nothing about agriculture, Phillip had great difficulty keeping these people alive.

Phillip and his fleet were starving for some of the marines who came with Phillip didn't keep order well. Phillip finally racked his brains so that everyone could survive by taking the decision to choose several prisoners to become supervisors.

Although Phillip returned to England in 1792, the people who settled in New South Wales continued to prosper at the turn of the 19th century. Their sense of patriotism emerged, they began to determine January 26 as its anniversary. In 1818, 26 January was declared an official holiday, marking the 30th anniversary of British settlement in Australia.

The Australia Day Controversy

However, not a few agree with Australia Day celebrations. Because on the other hand, Australia Day also marks the start of the indigenous people of Australia, namely the Aborigines, who were driven out of their own land.

The British, who arrived at that time, colonized their land, drove out and killed the Aboriginal people. Therefore, 26 January is also known not only as Australia Day but also Survival Day.

January 26, 1838, is remembered as the Aboriginal people's worst day. Police and settlers hunt for Aboriginal families in Waterloo Creek, northern New South Wales. Police chased them for several kilometers before being shot in a creek in northwest New South Wales.

Official records say at least 40 people were killed, including children. But other historians say hundreds of Aboriginal people died that day. The killings coincided with the 50th anniversary of British occupation of Australia, which was then celebrated in Sydney.

But other historians also say that it is estimated that thousands of Aboriginal people have been killed since the first day of the British occupation of Australia. The struggle to settle on their land and survive often ends in brutal and bloody acts between Aboriginal and immigrant tribes.