Thanks to Hillie for this challenge. She wrote it and did a darn good job! All we need to do to thank her is create an object in honor of Australia Day! Post it here!
Australia Day - Wednesday January 26 2005
Australia Day signifies the arrival of the 11 ships of the First Fleet in 1788 under Captain Phillip sailing aboard the flagship "Sirius". They anchored at Botany Bay on 18 January 1788 but because this location was considered unsuitable for settlement, Phillip reconnoitred the area and took the Fleet into Port Jackson to anchor at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. 1,486 arrived in Australia on the ships. And so Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and became its first Governor.
Australia Day, January 26, is a national holiday and a day of celebrating what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day on which Australians commemorate the founding of the modern Australian nation. Flag-raising ceremonies, citizenship ceremonies, barbecues, fireworks and regattas are just a few of the events which take place. The celebration is a spectacular day and evening on Sydney Harbour which is the focal point of Australia Day with people enjoying the day with friends and family around the country.
For many indigenous Australians, however, 26 January is not a day of celebration but one of mourning and protest. For them the founding of the modern Australian nation led to the disruption of their traditional way of life when the colonists arrived. But there has been some progress towards reconciliation.
A few ideas on Australian symbols for our special day to get you started:
* the Sydney Harbour Bridge which includes the fireworks on and above the bridge and harbour www.cultureandrecreation....ourbridge/ and the Sydney Opera House on Sydney Harbour - 360 degree panned image: www.whats-on-in-sydney.co...efault.htm
* the tall ships - www.luxuryyacht.com.au/ha...ia/day.htm
* Aussie animals - koala, kangaroo, emu, echidna, platypus, dingo, bandicoot, great white shark, frilled neck lizard, bilby, wallaby, Tasmanian devil, ring tailed possum, wombat, sugar glider, kookaburra
* aboriginal symbols - their art, didgeridoo, corroboree, boomerang
* "Advance Australia Fair" - our national anthem - www.hamilton.net.au/advance.html
* "Waltzing Matilda" - our "almost" national anthem and still a great favourite - www.anu.edu.au/people/Rog...MText.html
* the Australian flag: all Australian Government departments and associated portfolio agencies fly the Australian National Flag on this day. On January 1, 1901, this flag was was chosen from about 30,000 entries in a public contest. It was officially adopted as the Australian flag in 1953 - www.csu.edu.au/australia/flag.html
* the Aboriginal flag - www.ausflag.com.au/flags/ab.html
* geographical symbols: Uluru (Ayers Rock in Central Australia), the Blue Mountains (New South Wales) & Snowy Mountains (New South Wales/Victorian border), the Outback, deserts covering 70% of Australia (eg. the Simpson, Great Sandy, the Pinnacles, Sturt Stoney, etc) Kakadu & Daintree National Forests, the Kimberleys, the Great Barrier Reef, ad infinitum....
* food: Anzac Biscuits, damper, lamingtons, pavlova, pumpkin scones, the (in)famous meat pie
* ...and of course, our very own Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, who runs the Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland - www.crocodilehunter.com/
Hillie
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