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On 26th January 1788, Arthur Phillip, in charge of eleven ships, landed at what is now Circular Quay, in Sydney, Australia. This was probably the first visit to those shores since their discovery and charting by James Cook eighteen years earlier.
The ships landed about 1000 people, about 700 of whom were convicts of both sexes. The rest were the Marines sent to guard them, and their families. The beginnings were rather inauspicious. Among the convicts were very few with the necessary skills to establish a colony; one fisherman, fewer than five builders and very few farmers. But, they did include one Thomas Squire, a former pub landlord convicted of highway robbery … the Dick Turpin kind, not that practised by modern landlords! He managed to produce the colony’s first beer!
Despite that inauspicious beginning in Australia, they’ve celebrated January 26th ever since as Australia Day.
While migrants can take the oath of allegiance, and receive Australian citizenship at any time of the year, many feel it’s appropriate to do so on Australia Day. Those who already are citizens set out to have fun.
That fun usually involves beer and cremated beef … don’t forget, January is in the middle of the southern summer, as are many other Australian holidays, except on this day the national flag is much more in evidence.
It was over 40 years after the arrival of the First Fleet before the first settlers arrived in South Australia. And, they were all free people; it’s the only state that never received convicts. But, they like to celebrate Australia Day with the rest of the country.
The South Australian capital, Adelaide, is ideally suited for such celebrations. The city centre is completely surrounded by parkland, and part of it, Elder Park, is a great place for the free concert they put on. The wide main street is ideal for the parade and, since the city centre is laid out on a grid-iron pattern, it’s easy to close the street for a short while, with minimum inconvenience.
This year the parade was led by the three services, followed by organisations of all kinds, from re-enactors to car clubs. The largest sector had to be the ‘communities’ of the many nationalities who make up Australia.
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JustSayGO Travel Show
On 26th January 1788, Arthur Phillip, in charge of eleven ships, landed at what is now Circular Quay, in Sydney, Australia. This was probably the first visit to those shores since their discovery and charting by James Cook eighteen years earlier.
Despite that inauspicious beginning in Australia, they’ve celebrated January 26th ever since as Australia Day. 
The South Australian capital, Adelaide, is ideally suited for such celebrations. The city centre is completely surrounded by parkland, and part of it, Elder Park, is a great place for the free concert they put on. The wide main street is ideal for the parade and, since the city centre is laid out on a grid-iron pattern, it’s easy to close the street for a short while, with minimum inconvenience.
