Australia national day sees anti-UK protests, agitators vandalise statues of British settlers, king

Thousands of Aussies across the country joined protests during the Australia Day celebrations on Sunday in support of the country’s native people, who view the day as not something to be celebrated, but as an event marking the start of the killing of millions, Reuters reported.

Two historical statues were damaged by protesters in Melbourne. A statue of colonist John Batman was cut in half and a World War One memorial for Australian soldiers was covered in red paint.

John Batman is a founder of the country’s second-largest city, Sydney, and was involved in the killing of Indigenous people.

A statue of King George V was also defaced in the capital, Canberra, on Sunday. Graffiti in red paint on the statue read, “The colony is falling.”

Australia’s national day on January 26 is a day of mourning for many Indigenous Australians. It marks the day Captain James Cook landed in Sydney Cove and the start of British colonisation.

Australia Day is commemorated to celebrate when a British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour to start a penal colony in the late 18th century. However, critics prefer to call it Invasion Day or Survival Day because of the atrocities and killings carried out by European invaders to colonise the island.

The day is a national holiday in the country.

“Invasion Day. It’s just about the survival of our people. We’re still here. We ain’t going anywhere. Like, you know, you can try to assimilate all you want, but we’re still here,” Indigenous Australian Amanda Hill said.

Police estimated that 15,000 people joined protests and music events in Sydney throughout the day. In Melbourne’s central business district, around 25,000 people took to the streets.

Speakers at the protests discussed key issues for Aboriginal Australians. They highlighted the high number of Aboriginal deaths in police custody, missing and murdered Aboriginal women, land rights, and the call for a treaty to support Indigenous people.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attempted in 2023 to create a constitutional voice for Aboriginal people in parliament through a referendum. However, the referendum was rejected.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton said in a post on social media that Australians “shouldn’t be afraid of celebrating” their country on Australia Day. Dutton has stated that the country must unite under one flag and that he will remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from government press conferences if he becomes prime minister in an election that must take place by mid-May.