Day After First Australia Day

Technically it's two days after.

Some might know that Meredith and I go back about fourteen years. We were together when I was a wee 21 and then we weren't. And now, more than a decade later, more mature, intelligent and attractive, we are once again. She is why I'm here and want to be nowhere else.

Not surprisingly, I have had Australia on a bit of a pedestal and it has yet to come down, which is more than I can say for itself. (That is another bunch of blog posts for the probably many times in the future I'll bring that up. I must not get started on the Nine Network's test cricket commentators.). It goes without saying, perhaps, that I was really excited to show my green and yellow pride this weekend to celebrate Australia Day.

It's kind of similar to the States' Fourth of July but not really. It's celebrated like that. Australia Day is technically the day the first ship of British convicts hit the shores in 1788. I'm trying very hard to recall the facts of Robert Hughes's

. Of course this posed a bit of a problem for the Aboriginals who had been here for many, many years, a figure that runs into the tens of thousands.

It's the latter point that had me questioning my participation. It makes me think of the various anti-Fourth of July celebrations. We went anyway and saw a lot of Australian flags flying. I had my own display in various forms.

Australia Day, 2008

The crowd was what I suspected, as it milled about along the various paths that wend through Southbank. There were lots of kids, long lines for the bathrooms, and carts set up selling warm soda (seriously?) and ice cream that had barely a chance in the humidity. I was excited. I am in Australia finally. Every once in a while, especially when I look at the money, I'm a little astounded by that.

But despite my expat patriotism, I overlooked some stuff while I was dodging kids and applying Zinke to my lips. There weren't, that I could see, any Aboriginal flags flying. The government has a Web site especially for Australia Day, which includes a schedule of events around the country, a little bit of history, and even the national anthem lyrics and sheet music. It also includes a link to Reconciliation Australia, an organization that is attempting to, well, reconcile the rift (there really is no word to describe it) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

There is more to it. Technically, there are centuries more to it and, therefore, not enough time to go into the rest of the beginning right now. I think of trying to cover the history of Native Americans and slavery in the U.S.

So we probably won't do Australia Day next year. But then again, Fourth of July was always just another day off. If you've seen one Australia Day, there are probably much different ones depending on the location. Nevertheless, I'll save the fireworks for New Year's.