Australia Day 2023
There are unsung heroes in every town. You have the chance to honour people who have made great contributions to your neighbourhood by voting for them in the Community Citizen of the Year awards sponsored by Auspire – Australia Day Council WA.
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There are several categories, including Active Citizenship, Young Community Citizen of the Year, Senior Community Citizen of the Year, and Community Citizen of the Year (group or event).
The deadline for nominations is Monday, October 31, 2022.
The winners will be revealed on January 26, 2023, at Australia Day events in Geraldton and Mullewa. To learn more, come back soon.
When is Australia Day?
Australia’s National Day, which falls on January 26, is a public holiday.
It commemorates Captain Arthur Phillip hoisting the British flag on that day in 1788 as the First Fleet of British Ships arrived at Port Jackson, New South Wales.
When January 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday in any State or Territory, the public holiday is transferred to the following Monday.
The origins of Australia Day
The colony of New South Wales appointed Captain Arthur Phillip as its first governor, and the young settlement immediately started commemorating the occasion of their arrival.
The commemoration, known as “Foundation Day” in the early nineteenth century, was honoured by sporting events. Horse racing was popular in the 1820s, but regattas had taken off by the 1830s.
The first official holiday in Australia was declared to honour Foundation Day in 1838, fifty years after Phillip arrived. The first holiday turned into a yearly celebration and has since been celebrated on or around January 26. The 26th of January was observed as “First Landing Day” in Sydney, where it was marked by anniversary banquets and afterwards by a yearly race on the harbour.
By 1888, all colonial capitals—aside from Adelaide—had declared “Anniversary Day” a public holiday, and events were held in each colony.
In 1938, the nation-wide celebration of Captain Phillip’s arrival coincided with the 150th anniversary of white colonisation.
Australia Day is the name given to the holiday celebrated on the same day each year by the Commonwealth Government, States, and Territories.
The Monday closest to January 26th, however, was nevertheless designated as the Australia Day public holiday.
Australia Day was celebrated on January 26th, 1988, the year of the nation’s bicentennial. A recreation of the First Fleet’s voyage, which started from Portsmouth on May 13th and arrived in Australia in early January, was the focus of the numerous celebrations.
All the states and territories did not agree to celebrate Australia Day on the actual day in place of the following Monday until 1994. Celebrations of United Australia Day have been conducted on January 26 or the Monday after since.
On Australia Day, there are formal ceremonies held all around the country in addition to entertaining local celebrations.
Public Holiday: Thursday 26 January 2023
Australia Day is a gazetted Public Holiday
