Australia Day
Posted on Friday, 26th January 2007 at 10:24pm8 Comments Ensuing
I found out today that I have been nominated for Best Australian or New Zealand Weblog in the Seventh Annual Weblog Awards, which is quite fitting given that it is Australia Day today. If you have a moment to spare, please vote for my blog, voting will close on February 2nd and winners will be announced on March 12 at SXSW.
Australia Day celebrates the day that Captain Arthur Phillip unfurled the British flag at Sydney Cove and proclaimed British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia in 1788. Nowadays, it’s predominantly about 40 degree days, BBQs, drinking, fireworks, cricket games and the Australian of the Year being announced.
Very few know the true history of that fateful day, many are to believe that Byron Bay was the location where Captain Arthur Philip unfurled the flag, I thought I would provide a timeline of events surrounding Australia Day for those who enjoy trivia and history…
- 1788 – Captain Arthur Phillip unfurls the British flag at Sydney Cove and proclaims British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.
- 1808 – First recorded celebrations on 26 January.
- 1818 – Governor Macquarie holds the first official celebrations on 26 January, marking 30 years of white settlement.
- 1836 – First ‘Anniversary Regatta’ held on Sydney Harbour. Now called the Australia Day Regatta, it is the oldest continuous regatta in the world.
- 1838 – Fiftieth anniversary of Captain Phillip’s landing and commencement of traditional ‘Australia Day’ public holiday in NSW.
- 1888 – Centenary celebrations for Anniversary Day.
- 1901 – Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia.
- 1931 – ‘Australia Day’ adopted in Victoria.
- 1932 – ‘Australia Day’ adopted in NSW, only to be reversed to ‘Anniversary Day’ by the incoming state government.
- 1935 – Commonwealth Government and all States and Territories, except NSW, adopt ‘Australia Day’ as the official title for our national day.
- 1938 – 150th anniversary celebrations across the nation.
- 1946 – All States and Territories celebrate January 26 as ‘Australia Day’.
- 1960 – Sir Macfarlane Burnet named the first Australian of the Year.
- 1968 – Lionel Rose becomes the first Aboriginal Australian of the Year.
- 1979 – National Australia Day Council formed, incorporated in 1990.
- 1988 – Bi-centennial celebrations and for the first time a united public holiday on January 26 across the nation.
- 1992 – Inaugural Survival Concert held at La Perouse, now an annual event.
- 1994 – All States and Territories begin to celebrate Australia Day on January 26 for the first time.
- 2006 – Paris Hilton is paid million by an Australian beer company to party and look hot.
And for those of you that don’t care for history and would much rather a good addictive flash game, the ‘Rocky the Cocky’ game is highly addictive and amusingly named.
Happy Australia Day.
8 Responses to “Australia Day”
- Wakkere Burgers - Het Geweten van het Web » Blog Archive » Australië comments:
January 26th, 2007 at 11:38pm Reply to this comment.
[...] Het is vandaag Australia Day! [...]
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Jay comments: January 27th, 2007 at 6:40am
Reply to this comment.Happy Australia Day.
Personally, I’m awfully glad our day lands in July, because in Canada we’d be hard pressed to even find our barbecues right now under the 10-foot snow drifts.
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StuckInCustoms comments: January 28th, 2007 at 12:35am
Reply to this comment.I will vote for you too – thanks for the vote on mine. I just found your website – cool stuff!
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kris comments: January 28th, 2007 at 3:43am
Reply to this comment.wooo Happy Australia Day!
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Ricky_Moon comments: January 28th, 2007 at 8:09pm
Reply to this comment.I voted for Kitta because Ive been reading this blog for a while, shes australian, im australian and because well it’s Kitta
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Mark comments: January 29th, 2007 at 2:08pm
Reply to this comment.“Kitta swears like a Thai hooker on crack while getting DVDA.”
You know, I think there’s a double meaning there…
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MrGQ comments: February 1st, 2007 at 2:15am Reply to this comment.
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Jen comments: February 1st, 2007 at 2:38am
Reply to this comment.I voted for you! Your blog soooo funny
Good luck!
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