Today (January 26th) marks Australia Day , an event not just celebrated down under but worldwide by Aussie ex pats and their friends also. Given the amount of Irish people living in Australia it’s inevitable that our emigrants will join the party wherever they are based, adding a blend of our unique culture to the festivities. Here are some facts about Australia day & it’s origins:
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The 26th of January marks the same date back in 1788 that Captain Arthur Phillip raised the flag over Sydney Cove thus establishing sovereignty over Australia – then known as New Holland.
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The first recorded celebrations took place in 1808 to mark the twentieth anniversary of the raising of the flag with the first official celebrations taking place a decade later.
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New South Wales became the first colony to declare Australia Day a public holiday, in fact Australia Day was only really first observed at all by other colonies in the centenary year of 1888.
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In 1988, Australia celebrated its bicentenary with significant events taking place in all major city across the country. There were nearly 2.5 million visitors to Sydney alone attending events such as street parties, concerts & reenactments.
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Since the bicentenary celebrations Australia Day has become a much more celebrated event than ever before with street BBQ’s, concerts, parades, fireworks displays & other community events being held in cities, towns & territories all over the country.
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