Australia Day begins with WugulOra ceremony, sunrise viewings - ABC News

Australia Day has kicked off around the country, with ceremonies in Sydney and Canberra marking the official start to the day's proceedings.

In Sydney, the sun rose on an Opera House lit up with an artwork by NSW Indigenous artist and Yaegl woman Frances Belle-Parker.

The WugulOra ceremony, meaning One Mob, marked the beginning of events at the city's Barangaroo Reserve, complete with traditional Indigenous dances and a smoking ceremony.

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In a welcome to country, Yvonne Weldon, chairperson of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, called for Australia to own its past.

"My people are the oldest living culture of the world," she said.

"Let us all acknowledge and remember the many sacrifices of my people, the sacrifices then and the sacrifices now."

Ms Weldon also called for unity "regardless of what date or day you call it".

"We need to heal and we can only do this together," she said.

The sails of the Sydney Opera House are lit up at dawn with an artwork by NSW Indigenous artist Frances Belle-Parker.(AAP: Dean Lewis)

At a ceremony in Canberra, Prime Minster Scott Morrison said whatever their beginnings and circumstances, "Australians have always demonstrated our ability to overcome".

"Today on Australia Day, we reflect on that journey. The price that has been made for our freedom. The lessons of our history. And the privilege of being able to call ourselves Australians. We do it on this day when the course of this land changed forever," he said.

"There is no escaping or cancelling that fact, for better or worse, and worse, it was the moment where the journey to our modern Australia began and it is this continuing Australian journey that we recognise today."

Mr Morrison said the nation had "risen above our brutal beginnings, we have overcome, survived, and thrived".

"We have learned yet we're still learning. As the many peoples of the world joined our journey, we have become stronger."

National Australia Day Council chair Danielle Roche said the past year had "thrown every imaginable challenge to our nation".

"Twelve months ago, Australia was only beginning to emerge from a summer of bushfires unprecedented in our lifetimes. Not before the last fires had been extinguished, coronavirus reached our shores," she said.

"In a few short months, it would go on to become a global pandemic, putting our society, our economy, and our people under unthinkable strain. Australians did what Australians do in times of crisis, we came together, we responded as one, with compassion, empathy, and with courage."

Dozens of people gathered and hundreds watched online as the service unfolded beside Lake Wendouree.(ABC News: Sarah Jane Bell)

Events planned across the country

While some Australians are set to celebrate the day, others see the date as a day of mourning.

A raft of events of both celebration and protest are planned around the country.

In western Victoria, Ballarat's Koorie Engagement Action Group (KEAG) has held its second Survival Day Dawn Service to mark January 26.

The ceremony by Lake Wendouree acknowledged the devastating effects of colonisation on Indigenous communities across the country.

For the first time, the service was live-streamed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and members of KEAG said they hoped the online access would encourage the broader community to be educated about the significance of the date.

Close to 1,000 people were recorded as viewing the service, with more than 100 viewers from overseas.

Torres Strait Islander woman and KEAG member Deb Clark said it was vital to provide a space for conversations about the true history of Australia.

"It's about understanding that disposition, the diseases that wiped out so many of the population, the violence that happened and the deaths that were caused from the frontiers, and the destruction of culture," she said.

"The exploitation of people and the families that were torn apart — the last 200 years tells that tale and we listen to the true story."

Ms Clark said the service was also an important opportunity for healing.

"[The dawn service] is also about solidarity, it's about people standing together," Ms Clark said.

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and Culture... must be embedded into our conversation so that truer history, that has been forgotten and excluded, has a place," she said.

A smoking ceremony was held at Barangaroo Reserve in Sydney on Monday night.(AAP: Paul Braven)

More than 7,000 people have registered their interest in attending protests in Sydney, which are currently limited to 500 people under coronavirus restrictions.

Rally organisers submitted a request to Health Minister Brad Hazzard for an exemption to the cap.

A decision had not been made when the Aboriginal Legal Services, representing the organisers, applied to the NSW Supreme Court.

Shortly before the hearing, Health Minister Brad Hazzard refused the exemption.

Organisers of the Melbourne rally, scheduled for 10:30am (AEDT), have urged attendees to pre-register, but Premier Daniel Andrews has urged Victorians not to attend the event.

Australia Day in Melbourne is usually marked with a parade through the city, but Mr Andrews also cancelled the event to prevent potential coronavirus transmission.

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2021-01-25 22:11:42Z
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