Monuments defaced as Australia Day protests ramp up
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The Aboriginal flag (left) and the Australian national flag are seen hoisted on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Australia Day in Sydney on Jan 26.
PHOTO: AFP
MELBOURNE - Two historic statues were damaged in Melbourne ahead of Australia Day celebrations on Jan 26 with tens of thousands across the country joining protests in support of Aboriginal groups who say the date is not one to cheer.
A statue of colonist John Batman – a founder of the country’s second-largest city who was also involved in killings of Indigenous people – was sawn in half, while a monument commemorating Australian soldiers in World War I was daubed in red paint, with the words “land back”, in the early hours of Jan 25, local media reported.
Australia’s national day on Jan 26 is a controversial date for Indigenous Australians because it marks the day that Captain Arthur Phillip landed in Sydney Cove, and the start of the country’s colonisation by the British.
Protesters were also carrying Palestinian flags, and speakers spoke of similarities between Aboriginal and Palestinian experiences.
“Invasion day. It’s just about the survival of our people. We’re still here. We ain’t going nowhere. Like you know, you can try to assimilate all you want, but we’re still here,” Indigenous Australian Amanda Hill said.
In Sydney, the artwork of Wiradjuri-Biripi artist James P. Simon was projected onto the sails of the Opera House, as part of many dawn ceremonies around the country to be followed by protests and festivities throughout the day.
Police estimated that 15,000 people took part in protests and music events in Sydney throughout the day.
In Melbourne’s central business district, local shopkeepers had been warned to expect as many as 30,000 people marching through the streets, local media reported.
Speakers at the protests talked about issues important to Aboriginal Australians, including the high numbers of Aboriginal deaths in police custody, missing and murdered Aboriginal women, land rights, and the push to establish a treaty to support Indigenous people.
Efforts by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to establish a constitutional voice for Aboriginal people to parliament was soundly defeated in a 2023 referendum.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton said in a post on social media that Australians “shouldn’t be afraid of celebrating” their country on Australia Day.
Mr Dutton has said 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. REUTERS
