Picture shows Australia Day hasn’t changed as thousands flock to beaches across country
Millions of Aussies fired up the barbecues and caught rays on the beach to celebrate the national holiday.
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Thousands flocked to beaches across the country to soak up the sun on Australia Day.
Sydney turned on a glorious summer day on Sunday with temperatures in the high 20s.
Everyone was in high spirits as they splashed in the water and fired up the barbecues.
It comes as an online survey of more than 21,000 people, conducted by News Corp, showed at least 87 per cent think our national day should remain as it is, and at least three in four Australians declared any government that changes the date would lose their support. Just 12 per cent of respondents backed calls to change the date, and one per cent advocated for no celebration at all. At Circular Quay, RAAF Roulettes flew over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
Shortly after midday, the annual Ferrython was held in Sydney Harbour, with eager fans watching in anticipation as four ferries competed for first place along the iconic stretch of water.
Each vessel was decked out in decorations and bright colours to honour their namesakes, with the teams of each ferry supporting different groups, with May Gibbs supporting the State Emergency Services (SES).
“We are just out there to have fun and support the SES,” May Gibbs’ captain Julie Maley – who is steering the ferry for the first time – told the Sunday Telegraph.
“It will be a little bit weird and tight with four boats racing.”
Despite the cloudy skies across parts of the country, it didn’t stop people flocking to the beach to catch some rays.
Barbecues started to sizzle early on Sunday morning in Parramatta Park, where attendees are enjoying live music and entertainment while cooking up a storm.
Families gathered on the lawn in Parramatta Park on Saturday evening to catch a glimpse of the Balloon Glow show, with others enjoying the epic hot-air balloon show during the morning.
REVVED UP
Hundreds of cars, utes and trucks have lined up to take part in the annual Australia Day Ute Run in Darwin, held at the Hidden Valley Raceway.
The event, which is hosted by hot100FM and Variety Northern Territory, raises money for disadvantaged children in the NT.
Prime Minister welcomes New Australian citizens
Thousands of people are expected to become New Australian citizens on Sunday.
The total is expected to near 15,000 across about 280 ceremonies nationally, according to a statement released by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and his assistant ministers and reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Anthony Albanese welcomed the country’s newest citizens at the Australia Day citizenship ceremony and flag-raising ceremony at Commonwealth Place on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra on Sunday morning, joined by the Governor-General Sam Mostyn AC.
More than 280 ceremonies will be held around the country on Sunday, with the Prime Minister welcoming 24 people who were sworn in as Australian citizens.
“It’s an honour to share this moment with you and your loved ones,’ Mr Albanese said.
“Today, in our big cities and country towns, at beaches and backyard barbecues, and in over 280 ceremonies like this one, we celebrate everything that brings Australia together and everything that sets our nation apart from the world.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton – who did not attend the Canberra ceremony – posted a video online saying the “defining achievement” of the country has been the “weaving together of the Indigenous, British and migrant threads of our story” while urging the celebrations to be held “under one flag”.
“To be an Australian is to have won the lottery of life, and we have every reason to be patriotic and proud today,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).
“Let’s celebrate the achievement of Australia under one flag.”
In Sydney’s northwest, NSW premier Chris Minns welcomed more than 100 new citizens at the Australia Day citizenship ceremony in West Hyde, and offered a message of unity for the national holiday.
“I think, unlike a lot of countries around the world, perhaps even the United States, my sense about Australia is that there’s more that unites us then divides us,” he said per the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I don’t believe the typical Australian looks at politics and wants to cut themselves up into different tribes.
“I think most Australians would be happy to go to the cricket or the football with their mate who votes the entire opposite direction from them, and it would never even come up.
“And I actually think that’s a good thing for a country like Australia,” he said.
Crowds began gathering at Darling Harbour in Sydney early on Sunday morning for The Dawn Service, with a projection of Indigenous artwork lighting up the side of the Sydney Opera House.
Early on Sunday morning, many in Sydney’s eastern suburbs attended a Dawn Service held at 5.30am on Bondi Beach the Waverly Council – which includes the suburbs of Bondi, Bronte, Dover Heights, Queens Park, parts of Rose Bay, Tamarama, parts of Wauclause and Waverley – to commemorate the First Nations People with a “cultural expression from local knowledge holders and artists”.
Starting with a Welcome to Country and reflection from Aunty Lola Ryan, the morning service also featured a smoke ceremony, traditional and contemporary performances by the Gamay and Wagana dancers and a musical performance by Bondi artist Walangari.
Across the rest of the country, pubs will be gearing up for what is expected to be one of the biggest Australia Day celebrations in several years. “Our phone has been ringing all week with people wanting to know what’s going on, I think it’ll be the biggest Australia Day we’ve had for a while,” Sydney publican Steven Speed – who licenses Fortune of War in The Rocks, Sydney – told The Daily Telegraph.
South Australian farmer Harry Schuster has commemorated the national holiday by mowing the Australian coat of arms into the grain paddock off the Thiele Highway in the outskirts of Adelaide.
It’s the second year in a row that the 27-year-old used his tractor to carve the giant design into the field, last year opting to recreate a map of Australia and the national flag.
To help map out his epic designs, Mr Schuster used a GPS monitor to track his path.
“Australia Day is important because it’s about having another level of community above the local one,” he told The Adelaide Advertiser.
“It’s nothing to do with me, it’s something people can point to and say, ‘I’m represented by that.”
Originally published as Picture shows Australia Day hasn’t changed as thousands flock to beaches across country
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