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I posted this note last January 26 and I’m going to re-post it today as my opinion hasn’t changed about this day.
What is Australia Day? What exactly are we celebrating? Well, officially, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788; it marks the beginning of British colonisation of Australia. But can I ask a question? At the risk of being burned at the stake for sounding unpatriotic, is it possible not to be proud of the history of one’s country? Particularly when that history involves the story of brutal exploitation, murder, oppression and forced resettlement. The history of European colonisation the world over is a bloody stain tainting the story of Africa, South America, North America, and Australasia.
Let me give you a short history of Australia…
Dutch explorers first “discovered” the northern shores of Cape York in 1606, but never made claim to the land. In 1770, the British (led by James Cook) claimed most of the Eastern seaboard and by 1778 the First Fleet had arrived in Botany Bay to establish a penal colony. For thousands of years before the European settlement, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians. It is estimated that the Indigenous Australian population was around 350,000 at the time of settlement. This number declined steeply for 150 years following settlement for numerous reasons.
The first was the introduction of infectious diseases like chickenpox, smallpox, influenza and measles, which spread rapidly throughout the indigenous populations. Smallpox alone was responsible for killing more than 50% of the Aboriginal population. Proximity to settlers also brought venereal disease, to which Indigenous Australians had no tolerance and which greatly reduced indigenous fertility and birth rates. Settlers also introduced alcohol, opium and tobacco to Indigenous populations, and substance abuse has remained a chronic problem for indigenous communities ever since.
The second reason was the appropriation (theft) by the British settlers of land and water resources. They drove Aboriginals off land wanted for farming or grazing. This resulted in the loss of traditional lands, food sources and water resources, which was usually fatal, particularly to communities already weakened by disease. Cultural practices and social cohesion also became severely disrupted.
The third reason for declining population was direct violence. Tens of thousands of Indigenous Australians were killed indiscriminately and cruelly as a result of massacres, poisoning, raids, wars and intermittent conflict. Many of these acts have been described as genocide.
The combination of disease, loss of land and direct violence reduced the Aboriginal population by an estimated 90% between 1788 and 1900. Entire communities in parts of the continent simply vanished without a trace, often before European settlers arrived or recorded their existence. The Indigenous Australians experienced colossal human loss and cultural disintegration at the hands of the British settlers.
You may think that this is just a story of the past, but as Thomas Pogge points out, we are quick to relinquish responsibility for these crimes and claim that we should not be held to account for the sins of our forefathers. And, well, rightly so! But if we cannot inherit our ancestors’ sins, then why can we inherit the fruits of those sins, the huge economic superiority prevailing at the end of the colonial period? Most Indigenous workers were trapped in virtual slave labour, working to build much of the British settlements. Furthermore, the effects of mass-murder, destruction of culture, forced resettlement, disease, the stolen generation, and substance abuse continue to affect indigenous populations Australia-wide.
Lets look at some recent statistics:
Aboriginal people are 15 times more likely to be in prison than non-Aboriginal people, they make up 22% of prisoner population, while only making up 2% of the general population. Babies of Indigenous mothers continue to be twice as likely to be of low birth weight as babies born to non-Indigenous mothers and in the NT, the Indigenous infant mortality rate is three to four times the national rate. Aboriginal people are up to 10 times more likely to suffer from chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes), up to 8 times more likely to suffer from communicable diseases (TB, Hep A + B), and Aboriginal life expectancy is around 20 years lower than for other Australians. The unemployment rate for Aborigines is about three times higher than that of the non-Aboriginal population, Aboriginal households on average earn about $200 less per week than non-Aboriginal households, and they are half as likely to have completed schooling.
I could go on.
One thing is clear; somebody got the raw end of the deal. The history of British colonialism and its effect on the Indigenous population of this country was severe, but the consequences still play out today. Although we may not be directly responsible for the crimes committed, we are responsible for understanding our history and helping to right the still-felt wrongs of the past. Progress is slow. Tradition ownership of land has only begun to be recognised since 1992, with the High Court Mabo case. Also, only in 2008, after much anticipation, the Prime Minister finally made a formal apology to the Aboriginal people as a step towards acknowledging the crimes inflicted upon Australia’s indigenous population over the past two centuries by government policy.
So what does all this mean? Should we still celebrate Australia Day? Yes, we should. But as Australians, lets be very careful about what we define as “Australian.” Before we make ardent defences of what we arbitrarily define as “Australian culture” against the intrusion of non-white, non-English speaking, non-Christian minorities, lets consider for a moment that a little over 200 years ago, our culture was once a fatal intrusion on the rich culture of the first Australians.
I’m proud to call myself Australian. I love this country, its my home, I was born and raised here. But one thing is for sure, I’m not proud of its history. Today I’ll celebrate the fact that I live in a wonderfully beautiful country that affords me the freedoms that others around the world may never experience. But I’ll remember those that paid a hefty price and those that continue to bear the sin of British colonisation. Maybe today we should have the courage and tenacity that Kathy Freeman once had and wave both flags. I know I will.
Thanks for challenging the status quo!
I agree with most of what you said.
Why should we celebrate the day when the British invaded Australia and stole the land from the Aboriginals? I think we should be ashamed of our history, not proud that we did all this!