Tomorrow’s Australia Day celebrations will be somewhat bittersweet for some members of Bendigo’s indigenous community, conscious of the fact the occasion also marks the anniversary of the raising of the British flag on Aboriginal land in 1788.
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Bendigo and District Aboriginal Co-Operative chief executive officer Raylene Harradine said there were mixed views on the topic in the region, but some community members viewed January 26 as “Invasion Day”.
“However on the other hand, Australia Day is a day of everyone coming together to celebrate what it means for Australia as a whole community,” she said.
“Australia Day is a time to celebrate the diversity we have within our community as well.”
Ms Harradine said ensuring everyone who used BDAC’s services felt welcome was her top priority.
“With Bendigo in particular and the area that we cover, we as an organisation are always striving to be inclusive of everyone with anything that we do,” she said.
“Even though BDAC’s been established as an Aboriginal organisation to provide services to our community around closing the gap, some of our community have partners who are non-indigenous so it’s making sure that the community are feeling like we provide a cultural service that’s safe but also people feel comfortable in coming to receive a service.”
A group of Aboriginal rights protesters disrupted last year’s Australia Day celebrations in Melbourne, following the official parade down Swanston Street, but Ms Harradine said there were other more inclusive events as well.
“In Melbourne they have held events for a few years around share the spirit where it’s an inclusive event, not just Aboriginal people but everyone comes together in Treasury Gardens,” she said.
“They have a number of Aboriginal performances, singing and sharing our culture in that way, in the traditional way but also in a modern way.”
Ms Harradine said some of the most important values to recognise on Australia Day were empathy and inclusiveness.
“At the end of the day Australia is a diverse country and we have many cultures,” she said.
“From my point of view it’s having the empathy and understanding of what different cultures bring to Australia but also how that enhances Australia in the long-term and how we all come together and live together in harmony.”
January 26 marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson in New South Wales 228 years ago, where Arthur Phillip took formal possession of all Aboriginal land for Great Britain.
