Happy invasion day.

[WASP]

This is why a date change won't make any difference.

The stupidest bit of all this is the 26th of Jan is NOT the day Australia was "invaded", settled, or whatever you want to call it.

That was 19th of april 1770.

The 26th of January is effectively independence day from British control.

It occurred in 1946.

It's the anniversary of the beginning of Australian Citizenship.

I have no fkn idea why they call it invasion day, maybe they legitimately have no idea about history.

If somebody can suggest a date our Indigenous Australians won't feel sadness for the past wrongs I'm all ears.

19th of April 1770 was the day James Cook first saw land near the east coast of Australia, and then later making landfall near what is now called Point Hicks, and then they proceeded to Botany Bay.
The purpose of the trip was twofold, 1) observe the transit of Venus across the sun, and to seek evidence of the "undiscovered southern land" and return with said evidence.

In contrast, on January 26, 1788 marks the day British settlement began in Australia, hence the reason why those who are descendants from already inhabiting our country choose to refer to it as Invasion Day.

In 1818, January 26 then became an official holiday, marking the 30th anniversary of British settlement in Australia. As Australia became a sovereign nation, it became the national holiday known as Australia Day.

Today, we now celebrate the 26th as an evolved sovereign nation, however, I also think it's unreasonable to expect those people severely impacted by the original British settlement to simply forget or put that down to someone else’s past sins, progress, or evolution.

Unknowingly perhaps, the British settlers exposed the Indigenous people to diseases, such as smallpox, tuberculosis, influenza, measles, whooping cough, and the common cold. They later went on to gradually takeover of what were Aboriginal lands for farms and settlements on the premise that they believed the land belonged to no-one. There were of course atrocities on both sides, but the Aboriginals suffered greatly.

I say this to provide perspective, not to argue the case for moving the day.

As a proud Australian of British origin, for me, a big part of becoming Australian is being grateful the opportunities, privileges and freedoms that those early explorers and settlers started and fort for, while also accepting than many, especially Indigenous people suffered greatly as a consequence.

Part of that acceptance is acknowledging that even today, those descendants of our indigenous communities are still hurting, and even suffering as a consequence of the events that took place on January 26, 1788.

While I can’t begin to understand how changing the date of Australia Day will ease that burden for those people, I am prepared to do so as a gesture of acceptance, and respect, but most of all, recognition of those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have this amazing lifestyle and freedoms we enjoy today. In the scheme of things, it seems a small price to pay.