Australia Day or Invasion Day?
An indigenous leader was named Australian of the Year on Monday on this country's version of the Fourth of July, and immediately suggested the date be changed because it marks the first in a chain of events that almost destroyed thousands of years of Aboriginal history.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd quickly ruled out moving the holiday, but the comments by academic and outspoken activist Mick Dodson opened a debate about whether the best day to celebrate Australia is Jan. 26.
It was that day in 1788 that 11 British ships arrived at Sydney Cove carrying about 750 petty criminals and 500 marines and their families to set up a prison settlement _ the first white township in Australia.
Clashes between Aboriginal clans and the settlers began soon after, as the original inhabitants realized the newcomers were taking more and more of their hunting lands for farming and development. The pattern was repeated across Australia, as more British colonies were set up in what are now Australia's state capitals. Aboriginal spears were little match for British guns.
Aborigines lived traditional, often nomadic lifestyles on the Australian continent for up to 60,000 years before the arrival of the so-called First Fleet in Sydney.
Today, Aborigines are Australia's poorest, most unhealthy and most disadvantaged minority. Their communities are riven by alcohol and drug abuse, and life expectancies are 17 years shorter than other Australians.
"I understand how many, many indigenous Australians feel about Jan. 26 and I share their concerns ... because that represents the day that in effect our world came crashing down," Dodson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "Many Indigenous Australians regard it as invasion day."
He said he was humbled by the title bestowed on him Monday and he was not calling outright for the holiday date to be changed.
But many Aborigines still felt isolated from the occasion, he said.
"We need to have a conversation about that and try and fix that," Dodson said.
Rudd said discussing the idea is fine, but he would not be adopting it.
"To our indigenous leaders, and those who call for a change to our national day, let me say a simple, respectful but straightforward no," Rudd said at an Australia Day ceremony in Canberra.
The moderate, respectful tones on both sides indicate a dialing down of tensions between Aborigines and the government since Rudd was elected 14 months ago.
Rudd moved quickly to officially apologize to indigenous Australians for past government mistreatment, a gesture laden with symbolism that soothed in one step years of acrimony under former conservative leader John Howard. As he travels the country, Rudd routinely begins speeches by acknowledging the original inhabitants of the local area _ something Howard never did.
Ann McGrath, an Australian National University historian, said there were good reasons Jan. 26 was wrong for the national day, and welcomed a political climate that allowed the issue to be discussed without divisiveness.
"I don't think it's a white versus Aboriginal issue at all," McGrath told The Associated Press.
"1788 is very Sydney-centric, I don't think it's inclusive of all of Australia," she said. "There is a variety of other days that are just as representative of what we want to stand for."
Jan. 1, 1901, for example, was the day Australia's six separate British colonies federated into the Commonwealth of Australia, creating the country under one constitution. But, she added, who wants to celebrate their national holiday on New Year's Day?
As billions in Asia celebrated the start of the Lunar New Year with often raucous festivities, Australians celebrated their national day with backyard barbecues, cricket matches, and citizenship ceremonies.
Among the celebrations, Aborigines and their supporters gathered for smaller "Invasion Day" or "Survival Day" rallies.
Previous winners of the Australian of the Year award, named by a government-appointed council for services to the community, have included businessmen, scientists and entertainers. Former Aboriginal winners have included Olympic champion sprinter Cathy Freeman and musician Manduwuy Yunupingu.
