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“Hurray! Another public holiday! ...What for?” Many overseas students asked this question. If we want to know we will have to look back to the history of this beautiful and still relatively young country. When the first fleeters gathered to raise the flag at Port Jackson on January 26, 1788, they represented many nationalities including Welch, Scottish, Irish, Indian, American, Dutch, French, German, Jamaican, Madagascan, Norwegian, Portuguese and even Swedish. But when the flag was raised, it was unmistakably that of Britain, the King they saluted was British and the language they spoke was English. Although there were other nationalities, the biggest group by far were the English led by Captain Arthur Phillip on HMS Supply. The first group of migrants to arrive were convicts. The second and much larger group were free settlers and assisted migrants (indentured labour). Between the 1830s and 1860s, the male migrants were mainly rural labourers, with limited skills and education, women were either unpaid wives and daughters or domestic servants. Going to Australia in the first half of the 19th century was not an attractive option. Australia was often regarded as a place of punishment. It was a long way away, a dangerous voyage to undertake, with little chance of returning. The Australian gold-rush era from 1851-´61 had a major impact. In that time the population increased. The primary reason for coming to Australia before 1945 was economic. Australia was seen as a land of plenty and of opportunity, free from class system that so dominated all aspects of English life. After 1945 English migrants were looking for a sunnier version of England. Some were surprised that the Australian culture was not like “home” and returned back to England, some complaining loudly. The other migrants from Europe, such as the Greeks, Italians and Poles, knew they were coming to a foreign land and were better prepared for the expected culture shock. The English, who stayed, settled in all locations across the country with so little tendency to form ethnic ghettoes. Australia is changing rapidly now, multicultural and globalised, moving away from long-held traditions, creating its own. And Australia Day is one of them. The day when people cherish being Australian and for thousands who swore allegiance to their new homeland, it was a day that gave safety and hope. Sixty-three nations were represented at the citizenship ceremony in Olympic Park this year. Many people gathered in Sydney Harbour, Hyde Park and filled parks with picnics and barbecues with families and friends. Year after year there are many celebrations, free entertainment and activities for all ages. |
