Has Australia Day always been celebrated on January 26?
It’s an Aussie tradition that many are reluctant to give up but the truth is celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is a fairly recent event.
It feels like we have always celebrated Australia Day on January 26 but the truth is our national day has been held on different dates and has always been controversial.
The history of Australia Day was explained by Professor Kate Darian-Smith of the University of Melbourne in an article for The Conversation.
What does Australia Day actually celebrate?
January 26 commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet. Specifically it was the day commander Captain Arthur Phillip, rowed ashore at Sydney Cove, raised the Union Jack and proclaimed British sovereignty over part of the continent in 1788.
It was initially only celebrated in NSW
Early settlers held anniversary dinners on January 26 to commemorate “First Landing Day” or “Foundation Day”, with one of the biggest early celebrations held in 1818 for the 30th anniversary.
Governor Lachlan Macquarie hosted a 30-gun salute and annual regattas on Sydney Harbour later become a popular attraction.
But the holiday was still quite a NSW-centric occasion and other states introduced their own holidays. NSW didn’t proclaim January 26 a public holiday until 1838, 50 years after the arrival of the First Fleet.
Other states had celebrations marking the foundation of their own colonies. Tasmania held a Regatta Day in early December that jointly acknowledged the landing of Abel Tasman in 1642 and its separation from New South Wales in 1825.
In Western Australia, Foundation Day on June 1 celebrated the arrival of white settlers in 1829. South Australia’s Proclamation Day was held on December 28.
But from 1888 onwards, January 26 was celebrated by various states. By 1902 it was listed as a public holiday in Victoria and Western Australia. Queensland also followed but the holiday was not observed in South Australia until 1911.
January 26 is not a day for celebration – that’s why news.com.au is campaigning to change the date of Australia Day, so we can celebrate the best country in the world, without leaving anyone behind.
First ‘Australia Day’ was held on July 30
The first “Australia Day” was actually held on July 30, 1915, to raise funds for the World War I effort.
But it wasn’t until 1946 that all states adopted a common date and name for Australia Day to be held on January 26, although it was sometimes celebrated on the nearest Monday so people could have a long weekend, a parliamentary background paper published in 1991 has noted.
The push for the Australia Day holiday to be held on January 26 gained traction in 1988, when all states and territories celebrated it on that day, to mark Australia’s bicentenary.
Finally in 1994, celebrating Australia Day on January 26 was declared a national public holiday, with every state and territory celebrating on this day.
It was always controversial
Even though it wasn’t always known as “Australia Day” the popularity of celebrating “Anniversary Day” on January 26 did grow and by 1888 was a holiday in all capital cities except Adelaide.
However, even at this stage, there were reservations about celebrating this day as many thought NSW’s convict origins were better left in the past.
NSW governor Henry Parkes also recognised the day was a reminder to Aborigines of how they had been “robbed”.
In 1938, more than 100 Aboriginal people gathered for a conference to mark the “Day of Mourning and Protest”.
So it wasn’t always an obvious choice for Australia’s national day.
Why Australia Day was developed
After the Commonwealth of Australia was founded in 1901, there was renewed interest in setting a foundational holiday, with the Australian Natives Association trying to find a suitable date.
Empire Day was first introduced on May 24, 1905, to commemorate the late Queen Victoria’s birthday and as recognition of the strength of imperial ties.
Later the first “Australia Day” was held on July 30, 1915, to raise funds for the World War I effort.
It wasn’t until 1988 that all the states agreed to celebrate Australia Day on January 26 but it was still sometimes celebrated on the nearest Monday. A national public holiday was not declared until 1994.