January 26 marks the colonisation of Australia and the grief, heartache and pain that this has inflicted on First Nations people for generations. It is also a moment to recognise the ongoing survival of the oldest existing culture in the world today.
On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip raised the British flag at Warrane, marking the beginning of British colonial rule on Gadigal land. This date, originally commemorated as Foundation Day, has evolved into Australia Day. However, this day also represents the start of the invasion, suffering, and dispossession for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The true history of these lands spans over 60,000 years, far preceding colonial times.
When British settlers began colonizing Australia in 1788, between 750,000 and 1.25 Aboriginal Australians are estimated to have lived there. Soon, epidemics ravaged the island’s indigenous people, and British settlers seized Aboriginal lands.
Though some Aboriginal Australians did resist—up to 20,000 indigenous people died in violent conflict on the colony’s frontiers—most were subjugated by massacres and the impoverishment of their communities as British settlers seized their lands.
Between 1910 and 1970, government policies of assimilation led to between 10 and 33 percent of Aboriginal Australian children being forcibly removed from their homes. These “Stolen Generations” were put in adoptive families and institutions and forbidden from speaking their native languages. Their names were often changed.
For many Aboriginal and Torres Trait Islanders, January 26 is a day of mourning, symbolising the loss of their ancestors, their land, and their rights. It recalls the devastating impact of the Frontier Wars, the ongoing trauma, and the systemic injustices that continue to this day, including disproportionate rates of Black deaths in custody, health inequities, and the desecration of sacred sites. Celebrating on this day overlooks these painful realities and the resilience of First Nations peoples in the face of ongoing colonisation.
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The truth about white Australia: The genocide few talk about
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The killing times: the massacres of Aboriginal people Australia must confront
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Indigenous kids are still being removed from their families, more than ever before
Megathreads and spaces to hang out:
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Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
That’s cool, it’s a very good book and remains one of my faves. Honestly there is a bit in the beginning (like maybe chapter 3 or 4?) that was very tough to get through - if I remember correctly it was about Hindu(?) mystic conceptions of life as debt - and then it opens up. Honestly reading that book is a real experience because when you’re like 2/3 of the way through and are like “geez I don’t know if I can keep this up” the book actually completely changes pace, and becomes an overview of known history with reference to the established theory.
It can be a tough text to get through, I know several people in one of my book clubs who do read regularly who didn’t finish it. I hope you stick with it, but if you don’t you should know you’d be in good company.
OH one other technique for retention that I use is that for denser texts like Debt I usually also have the audiobook, so I end up going through the text twice without feeling like I do. Sometimes I’ll listen first, and get a sense of which sections I’ll want to go through slower with the text, and sometimes I’ll read first and then listen to the audiobook when I’m riding my bike or something to get a second pass. I find it helps a lot.