The First Australia Day

Saturday night at the State War Memorial

January 26 is Australia Day. The occasion is celebrated in mid-summer, typically with drinking and barbecuing among friends, followed by fireworks. If this reminds you of the 4th of July, you're not wrong to draw the comparison. In recent years, some Australians have advocated for moving or abolishing Australia Day because the data was chosen to commemorate the arrival of a British fleet, and celebrating the colonial history of this nation, which is marred by numerous massacres and injustices against its indigenous people, strikes some as uncomfortable and inappropriate. Think of the vibe on Australia Day, then, as about two-thirds 4th of July, one-third Columbus Day.

Australia Day is the only day of the year on which new Australians become citizens. We happen to know someone who became a citizen on this Australia Day, which I thought was pretty cool.

This year, the holiday fell on a Saturday, with an official observance the following Monday, which meant a three-day weekend. On Saturday, we met up with friends for pizza and beer. Then we walked through Kings Park at dusk, which is really full of lovely singing insects and the smells of exotic (to me) trees and shrubs. We arrived at the State War Memorial, overlooking the Swan River and the city of Perth, just in time for the fireworks.

Sunday night sunset at Cottlesloe Beach

Perth sits in a bushfire-prone region, and many decisions revolve around fire prevention. The fireworks were launched from boats in the bay, which was pretty spectacular, since the launch sites could maneuver relative to one another. When the display first started, it looked designed for viewing from South Perth, but then spun around to face where we were, on the east side of Kings Park.

It went on a long time, thirty whole minutes. Maybe it was the longest display I've ever seen. People mostly watched quietly, but there were also attempts to get the crowd involved in a call-and-response that starts "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!" I know the response is meant to be "Oi! Oi! Oi!" from my many hours watching Olympic swimming, but not a single person responded to this chant. Halfway through, some very drunk Europeans showed up and began howling like wolves. It was a discordant moment in an otherwise kind of mesmerizing evening.

Walking home through Kings Park in the dark, I missed the fireflies. It felt like there should be fireflies on such a night. I continue to be struck by how much the local fauna contributes to the way a place feels like home.

Monday afternoon at Swanbourne Beach

We spent the rest of the weekend at leisure. Following the introduction of a mutual friend back in Minnesota, we met a new friend at a bar on the beach. On Monday, we spent the afternoon sunbathing in Swanbourne, then played trivia at a bar with our friends. To our chagrin, the trivia was entirely Australia-themed. Our team was heavily loaded with foreigners and we didn't do well. I learned a lot, though.