Residents call on Adelaide Hills Council to return Australia Day celebrations to January 26

Hills residents are renewing efforts to bring back Australia Day celebrations to January 26 and calling for council to listen.

A fresh grassroots campaign in the Adelaide Hills aims to reinstate Australia Day events on January 26 – organisers hope the result will be a backflip towards tradition like Unley’s this week.

But Mitcham Council so far does not appear that it is for turning on the issue.

Hill residents Ian Bailey, Edna and John Tate and Leone Taylor are petitioning Adelaide Hills to bring back Australia Day events to January 26. Picture Mark Brake.

Locals in the Adelaide Hills Council area have launched a petition, with one of the campaign organisers Leone Taylor saying she believed the “quiet majority” wanted to revert to citizenship and awards ceremonies and community celebrations on January 26.

Ms Taylor said there has been disappointment over the council’s lack of consultation over the move away from that date this year. Events were held on January 25 instead.

On the national controversy around the date of Australia Day, Ms Taylor said: “History is history. Some of it’s good and some of it’s bad ... we have to move on in the world.”

So far, more than 300 signatures have been gathered on the petition, to be presented to councillors next month.

In August, the council ordered a report on how to gauge community views on the issue, after a letter from Torrens Valley Lions Club and a separate 1044-signature petition both calling for a backflip to January 26.

Adelaide Hills Council Ratepayers Action Group spokesman John Tate, who was behind the first petition, accused the council of going “woke” and “trying to tear down” Australia Day.

He said regardless of the council’s stance, the group would organise its own Australia Day celebrations at Federation Park at Gumeracha on January 26.

“This is how hard we’re fighting against them,” he said.

“History is history. Some of it’s good and some of it’s bad ... we have to move on in the world.” Picture Mark Brake.

Adelaide Hills Council said it could not respond to questions from The Advertiser on Tuesday.

Local council celebrations have become increasingly controversial after a federal government decision to allow them to be held within three days of January 26.

Mitcham Council in July voted to host celebrations on the Thursday evening closest to Australia Day.

When asked if the council was considering a backflip, a spokeswoman pointed to that decision. 

Originally published as Residents call on Adelaide Hills Council to return Australia Day celebrations to January 26