I realise I have been extremely inactive recently as this week has been manic. However, I am going to do my best to attempt to fill you in on all the fun things I have been up too (over a couple of posts as it really has been a lot.)
First of all, I feel it is relevant to start with the end of my week and tell you about my first ever Australia day. Australia day actually landed on the same weekend as Robert Burns night in Scotland, where we dress in tartan, eat haggis and listen to bagpipes. Robert Burns night is probably bigger than the St.Andrews day. Robert Burns was a very famous Scottish poet and is a huge part of Scottish culture. Throughout school, we learnt his poems and most famously, Auld Lang Syne.
Australia day was on the 26th and Burns night was on the 25th.
I was intrigued to see if anywhere in Melbourne was hosting a Burns night evening, but as it turned out we had booked to see Ludovico Einaudi on the same night (I’m going to write another post about this as the concert was truly breathtaking). The highlander in the CBD was hosting a 3-course meal with whiskey tasting and live music and we were rather gutted to miss it, next year we’ll go!
As this is my first ever Australia day, I decided to do some research into Australian history as I didn’t know Australia day existed.
Australia day began after Captain Arthur Phillip, who left Britain with a fleet of 11 ships, arrived at Sydney Cove on the 26th of January 1880 and rose the union jack flag to signal the beginning of a colony. There is much controversy over this date as the indigenous people settled in Australia almost 60,000 years ago.
After that moment Australia day has been there to remember the people who migrated to Australia and the people who have lived in Australia for thousands of years. I believe today after the summer that has been, it is a day to think about the people who have had their homes and livestock burnt away and bring them some joy and hope for the apparent future.
Before I came to Australia I really didn’t know much about Australia day or what to expect, is it similar to 4th July? I don’t know. Well I didn’t know until I looked up what was on and realised that maybe the Australians do go all out for this day.
I had a browse online and saw that there were a parade and an event in the Botanical gardens. The parade was not as I was expecting, it was mainly filled with other cultures and their traditions, different types of dance or instruments and hardly any Australian performances. There were even multiple pipe bands and highland dancers, I began to wonder if we were celebrating Burns night instead!
Then it occurred to me that Australia doesn’t really have a culture of its own, most of their culture has been created through other nationalities – the original settlers and the emigrators.
We watched the RAF flyby as we stood under the sun in the Botanical gardens and we heard the cannons fire in salute of the armed forces. The afternoon was lovely and blessed with hot weather, we wandered around the stalls and enjoyed the excitement of the day.
A huge part of Australia day involves the fireworks display at the Docklands, however Melbourne cancelled their fireworks display this year due to the bushfires, they spent money helping the people who were affected by the fires.
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