Bondi Beach exposes what Aussies really think about Australia Day
Bondi Beach was packed today with people enjoying the sun but one subtle detail in the photos reveals what Aussies really think about Australia Day.
Scenes at Bondi Beach today made it clear: Australia Day certainly isn’t celebrated as it used to be.
Sure, Aussies were still out in droves hitting the beach and flirting with possible skin cancer in the 36-degree scorching heat, but they weren’t dressed up for the occasion.
Over the years, the official national public holiday has become increasingly divisive.
Some still see January 26 as a day for celebration. Still, for Indigenous Australians and many other Aussies, it’s Invasion Day, a day of mourning.
Only five years ago, Bondi Beach was covered in Australian flags, stick-on tattoos and the occasional giant yellow and green thong ... but those days are long gone.
Only six kilometres from the eastern suburbs’ beachgoers in their sunhats and budgie smugglers, thousands gathered in Belmore Park for an Invasion Day rally.
While there were still crowds at Bondi Beach, there were no flags, hats, or painted Australia Day faces.
If you didn’t know it was January 26, it’d look like any other day on the famous beach and the lack of celebration left tourists confused and needing clarification.
Two girls visiting from Ireland who had no idea that Australia Day was seen as controversial were left surprised that Aussies weren’t at the beach celebrating in green and gold.
“If it was St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, people would be covered in stuff,” she explained to news.com.au.
As she glanced around at the beach, she admitted it was very “clear” Aussies weren’t celebrating in such a bold way.
There were no wild scenes, just people hanging out at the beach.
Similarly, a group of English tourists shared that this was their first Australia Day Down Under and declared the day was very “played” down.
Were they surprised?
Nope.
Only because they’d hung out with an Aussie early in their travels in Malaysia who had warned them the day was nothing to get excited about because it was too “controversial” to enjoy.
They’d come down to the beach to check it for themselves and admitted it didn’t exactly have party vibes.
A separate group of English tourists shared that they’d still made their way down to the beach to make the most of the public holiday after learning why Australia Day wasn’t so freely celebrated.
They said they thought it was “great” and dubbed it a “controversial” day for Aussies.
As for the Aussies who headed down to Bondi, they were all quick to clarify that while yes, they were at the beach on a public holiday, they weren’t actually celebrating that public holiday even if maybe it looked like they were.
One man in a singlet and board shorts explained that he was heading to hang out with a group of mates, but it wasn’t because of Australia Day.
“I’m not celebrating just catching up with friends,” he explained.
Similarly, a female friend he was with added that while she used to celebrate, she wouldn’t anymore, and she certainly wouldn’t be caught wandering around with any Aussie merch.
Interestingly, while plenty of Aussies were out and enjoying the sun and soaking it all up in their high-cut swimwear, none said they were celebrating Australia Day.
No one was waving around flags, sporting Australian flag singlets or in groups cheering. The vibe was low-key.
A woman in a bikini walking her dog along the famous boardwalk said she wasn’t celebrating today because she didn’t think there was much to “celebrate”.
Another confessed that if they saw an Australian flag on the beach, they’d think it was a “bad” thing and certainly not a patriotic one.
One shared that they’d noticed a massive decline in celebrations over the last five years, but they felt it was about time.
One Aussie in beachwear said they wouldn’t be celebrating because they saw it as a “difficult” day for Indigenous people, and they didn’t want to make it worse.
An Aussie admitted that only last year, she’d attended an Australia Day barbecue. She was surprised to see the party thrower had gone all out with Australian flags as decorations.
“I went to a barbecue last year, and I was surprised because they had heaps of Australian flag stuff out, but they wouldn’t have done that in public,” she said.
She said she wouldn’t buy an Australian flag herself to celebrate anymore, but she wondered if that was simply because she knew it would be socially taboo now. She pointed out it’d be more challenging to even buy one.
“Would people know where to buy them from now?” she asked.
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