January

26 January

26 January is a day of much contention. This day is marked each year as a national public holiday and commemorates the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in Australia.

Each year, for many people, this day is about celebrating the values, freedoms and pastimes of this country. It is a time for barbecues in the backyard, spending time with family and friends and proudly flying the flag. On the surface, this day may seem to be about unifying all Australians. Yet ironically, it is a divisive day for many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

Many Aboriginal people see 26 January as a Day of Mourning, as a day that commemorates the invasion of the lands they had occupied for over 60,000 years. For some, it is a Day of Survival. This day was originally marked as 30 July in 1915.

Did you know?

Captain Arthur Phillip did not first land in Australia on 26 January. On 13 May 1787, Captain Arthur Phillip led a fleet of 11 ships on a 252-day journey halfway around the world from Portsmouth, England to New South Wales. They were heading to Australia to create a new penal colony. The fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788.

Related resources

• Pride and Pain - There are two sides of the story of January 26th
• Sydney Morning Herald - Australia Day 2021: The truth about January 26
• NITV - 10 things you should know about January 26

Usually the 3rd Saturday of January: putalina festival at putalina (Oyster Cove)

There is much devastation and sadness in the history of the lands of Oyster Cove, now referred to as putalina.

Each year the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre hosts the putalina festival. Aboriginal people, whole families and friends travel from all corners of the state to putalina to enjoy a day filled with cultural activities, celebrating local and national Aboriginal musical talent, sharing a feed of yolla (muttonbird) as well as taking the time to reflect on the Old People who spent their last days at putalina, and others who have since been returned to putalina.

In 1847, after petitioning Queen Victoria, the surviving Tasmanian Aborigines at Wybalenna on Flinders Island were relocated to Oyster Cove, South of Hobart. Here they were housed in a condemned penal settlement considered unfit for convicts. Although conditions were harsh, the occupants continued to practice and pass on their culture. Oyster Cove was eventually closed in 1874.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal community reclaimed Oyster Cove as putalina in 1984, more than 100 years after it was abandoned. In 1995 the Tasmanian Government officially handed back the land to the Aboriginal community. Each year the putalina festival celebrates the vitality of Aboriginal culture and community.

To learn more about putalina festival and the history of Oyster Cove Settlement visit the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre website or On the Convict Trail: Oyster Cove Aboriginal Settlement.