Dear Paul,

Talking about Australia Day.

January 26th does not celebrate the establishment of
Australia as a country but marks the foundation of the
British colony of NSW.

Most nations celebrate their national day on the date
of independence from their colonial power, not the day
of colonization.

The date has negative associations for all Australians, both
Indigenous and non-Indigenous. It marks the start of
dispossession and discrimination for Indigenous Australians
and the arrival of convicts in chains.

A different date would be a significant symbolic act towards
Reconciliation.

Perhaps the day we become a Republic would be a good time
to celebrate? Just a thought.

I read an article years ago that another people proceeded the aborigines.
It appears that the two groups fought each other and the first group
were the losers and retreated to Tasmania.
Cannot remember any more than that.

I doubt there will ever be a "Constitutional recognition of the First Australians" for the simple reason that it has different meaning to different people and the differences are irreconcilable.

I think a plurality would support a statement in the constitutions preamble that acknowledge that there were some people on the land prior to the formation of the nation, that they had been here for [insert whatever BS number you've fallen for] thousand years and that they had some affinity with the land. There would also need to be a statement that the words of the preamble didn't give those claiming descent from the so-called first people any additional powers or rights.

But that would not be acceptable to the elite and the aboriginal industry who see a constitutional acknowledgement as a back-door way to get additional powers and rights for themselves over the heads of the general population. They will not settle for a mere statement that didn't carry extra rights.

And never the twain shall meet.

So no constitutional change. The need to get a majority of people in a majority of states means you need overwhelming support. That ain't coming.

Bazz,

Its very true that the Tasmanian natives were significantly less advanced than the mainlanders, so its very likely they were pushed further and further south by more advanced interlopers.

Its also true that there were peoples who were clearly not aboriginal in the Daintree even up to the late 19th century.

And my old favourite was the so-called Bradshaw peoples of the Kimberley who created art that is completely different from anything the aboriginals created and were therefore obviously a different peoples. Their existence is currently being expunged from history.

Seeing Earth is believed to have become habitable in the first 500 million years, 65,000 years isn't long, and any number of people could have been here before what we think of as 'aboriginals' arrived. These figures that everyone takes as gospel are about as genuine as the smoking ceremonies and welcome to country performances invented by Ernie Dingo and a mate in the 1970s.

Foxy,
I think that the 26 th January is a very appropriate date, 775 convicts arrived and started a new life which for the majority of them meant a far better life, that was a positive and so we celebrate.
645 of the new arrivals were free persons (did you miss that?) and many of them also did well.
But most importantly the 26th marks the beginning of the Indigenous Australians moving into the modern world of today, now they have access to education, health care, housing, vehicles, decent hunting weapons, good food and the list goes on.
Of course there are the wingers and moaners who want to reintroduce racism but they are but a vocal minority of Aboriginal Australians, the majority of whom distance themselves from the W@Ms.