Thousands protest against mistreatment of Indigenous people across Australia as citizenship ceremonies took place to mark the national day intended to celebrate the birth of modern Australia
Protesters at rallies across the country demanded that January 26 should be considered"Invasion Day."
Many protesters at rallies across cities on Wednesday dressed in black to mourn the day, with some carrying the Aboriginal flag and "change the date" signs. A monument depicting Captain James Cook, who arrived in the Pacific 252 years ago triggering British colonisation of the region, was doused in red paint overnight in Melbourne.
"Like the country itself, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are diverse, they're unique and they connect us through time."The January 26 public holiday marks the date the British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788 to start a penal colony, viewing the land as unoccupied despite encountering settlements.
Australia's 700,000 or so Indigenous people track near the bottom of its 25 million citizens in almost every economic and social indicator. Living often in remote communities, they also have been at greater risk from Covid.