In preparation for the Australia day long weekend and in the spirit of being inclusive to the original people of Australia, I went to the local shops to purchase an Aboriginal flag. I live in the Warwick area and my local shops is Warwick shopping centre, so that is where I went.

A B Original January 26

To my surprise, not one shop sold any aboriginally inclusive products on their shelves as part of their Australia day celebrations. It was all the aussie flag made in china crap and green and gold mexican straw hats.

I wanted to be inclusive this Australia day weekend, so part of this process for me was to buy nothing. We are celebrating Australia day/Invasion/Survival day by supporting the Aboriginal people. My family are attending the Invasion Day Rally in Forrest Chase, Perth, WA. If the aboriginal people had not have sacrificed so much we all wouldn’t be here doing what we do.

Shame on you Red dot, Thingz, and the cheap shop or any other shop for that matter for being ‘unaustralian’.

So for me as a British immigrant, it isn’t about saying sorry to the Aboriginal people, I personally took no part in that history. I cannot accept responsibility for what happened then, however I can take responsibility for my contribution to the collective now.

The first Australia Day was on the 30th July 1915. It was the original Australia Day, a national event to raise funds for troops wounded at Gallipoli. The date we now call Australia Day is 26th January. I personally think that the date change was birthed from more of a convenience point of view as July is in winter.

Let’s honour the ‘accurate’ history of Australia and see that celebrating Australia day on the day that Australia was invaded is brutally insensitive to say the least. Who really knows when the queens birthday actually is and to be honest, who cares just as long as we get our public holiday!

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