This calendar provides information about significant Aboriginal days, events, commemoration and/or celebration (Tasmanian, national and international days). 
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’s a time for BBQs 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, and yet ironically, it’s 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 back in 1915.
To find out more about 26 January and the current Australia Day debate, visit:
- Pride and Pain | There are two sides of the story of January 26th;
- Australia Day 2021: The truth about January 26 - Sydney Morning Herald; and
- 10 things you should know about January 26 - NITV.
Image source: Aboriginal Progressive Association, Australian Aborigines Conference: sesqui-centenary Day of Mourning and Protest (Sydney: Aboriginal Progressive Association, 1938). National Library of Australia.
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.
January
putalina festival at putalina (Oyster Cove)
Please note: Due to ongoing uncertainty as a result of COVID we recommend you check directly with the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for information on any restrictions/cancellation of this event.
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 (mutton bird) 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.
Image credit: putalina Land and signage. Photographer, Louise Adams.
On this day in 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the National Apology to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for the injustices of past government policies, particularly to the Stolen Generations.
Ten Days on the Island is a biennial cultural festival held in Tasmania - lutruwita, the first festival was held in 2001. It is Tasmania's premier cultural event, and presents exhibitions, performances and community events spread across the state. Over time this event has established a significant place in the Australian arts calendar.
National Close the Gap Day is a national day of action to pledge support for achieving equitable health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Please note: There is a difference between the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and the national day of action to Close the Gap. For a great, easy to understand explanation of the difference, download a copy of the 
The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on the day that police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass laws" in 1960.
Whilst an international framework for fighting racism has been developed (guided by the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination) it is still acknowledged that too many individuals, communities and societies suffer from the injustice and stigma that racism brings.
More than 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders enlisted in World War 1, including a number of Tasmanian Aboriginal men. At the time, Indigenous Australians were not lawfully able to vote, marry a non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, drink alcohol, own property, receive award wages or move freely around the country.
This is a significant day for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and particularly for Stolen Generations survivors.
The 
over 90% of all Australians voted in favour of amending two sections of the Australian Constitution.Sections of the Constitution subject to the referendum were:
included in the Constitution because of the widely held beliefs that:
National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievement, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.
On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia decided that terra nullius should not have been applied to Australia. This decision – known as the Mabo decision – recognised that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have rights to the Land – rights that existed before the British arrived and still exist today.
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
Reconciliation Walk across Hobart's Tasman Bridge in one of the State's largest ever public rallies.
National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day celebrates the strengths and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families.
Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of relating to people and the environment. They have retained social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Despite their cultural differences, indigenous peoples from around the world share common problems related to the protection of their rights as distinct peoples.
the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, chosen in recognition of the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations held in Geneva in 1982.
13 August 1997. The 
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of Indigenous Peoples. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and welling-being of the Indigenous Peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of Indigenous Peoples. It was drafted and formally debated for over twenty years prior to being adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007.
Nine years have passed since the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Many of the rights in the Declaration require new approaches to global issues such as development, decentralisation and multicultural democracy. In order to achieve full respect for diversity, countries will need to adopt participatory approaches to Indigenous issues, which will require effective consultations and the building of partnerships with Indigenous peoples.
Wybalenna is one of the most significant Aboriginal historical places in Tasmania. It is located on the west coast of Flinders Island, the largest island in the eastern part of Bass Strait.
clan of the Coastal Plains nation, revered for having powers over the wind. He was also a formidable warrior who reportedly danced to avoid spears thrown in clan attack and was a guerrilla fighter during the colonial wars. In 1829 he freed four Aboriginal women and a boy from John Batman's house where they had been held captive for a year.
Mannalargenna Day is held each year on the first Saturday in December is to honour the memory of revered ancestor Mannalargenna and is well attended by both Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People. The event includes a variety of cultural experiences, local Aboriginal artists/artwork, education forums, children’s activities, raffles, sampling of cultural foods and so much more.
Seven Aboriginal organisations, covering a wide geographic area of Tasmania, including the Furneaux Islands, came together to form the Tasmanian Regional Aboriginal Communities Alliance (TRACA). TRACA was developed to provide a mechanism to engage and advise Government at all levels in regard to affairs affecting Aboriginal Tasmanians. It is designed to be inclusive and to support and build the capacity of placed based Aboriginal Community decision-making. A Statement of Intent between the Tasmanian Government TRACA was signed on 13 December 2017.