Two days of celebrations – we really know how to party! Today is Australia Day – when the Australians celebrate being Australians. In actual fact, it marks the day in 1788 when the first British ships arrived in New South Wales and raised the British flag. So it is a little bit controversial, as since that time, the Aboriginal Australians who have lived here for 60,000 years have not been treated well: some people refuse to call it Australia Day and say it is Invasion Day (the day Britain invaded Australia and then did a lot of very cruel things to the aborigines and their land).
The day began here in Wollongong with an aquathon – a swim in the harbour and round to North Beach, then a run back to the harbour. (Not us – other people!) So there was a lovely buzz around the harbour, with people arriving back to the finish line, feeling very pleased with themselves. Then it was beach and barbecue time: the first time we’ve really seen the Aussies out en masse with their barbies. There is no parallel in England – we might have wicker baskets and waterproof rugs for our picnics, but the Aussies have a whole kit! There were not just the little beach tents, but pergolas, pergolas with net sides, octagonal tented pergolas… And people brought portable gas barbecues, tables and benches, mats, wheeled cooler boxes, and wheeled ‘trucks’ for carrying all the kit. The beaches, and the grass behind the beaches, were completely packed with families enjoying the day. There was a lovely, buzzy atmosphere all day.
We marked Australia Day by walking along the beach from Towradgi to Wollongong, watching a tremendous downpour from the cover of the Lagoon restaurant, then having dinner at Bombora by the harbour in the evening. A lovely day!
Nana Down Under 