Aust Day Info

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian. It’s the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It’s the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.

Australia Day is a day driven by communities, and the hundreds of celebrations held in each town, suburb or city are the foundation of its ongoing success.

The tradition of noticing 26 January began early in the nineteenth century with Sydney almanacs referring to First Landing Day or Foundation Day. That was the day in 1788 Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove.

Yet the tradition of having Australia Day as a national holiday on 26 January is a recent one. Not until 1935 did all the Australian states and territories use that name to mark that date. Not until 1994 did they begin to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.

The evolution of Australia Day has included a number of nationally significant events, including the strong emergence of the Indigenous rights movement on the sesquicentenary of 1938, and the huge bicentenary celebrations of 1988.

Further highlights in the history of Australia Day can be found at the Australia Day Council website.