Sydney council votes to end colonial Australia Day celebrations and replace with Aboriginal festival

One of Sydney’s largest local governments will encourage their residents to attend an Aboriginal festival on 26 January after voting to scrap its Australia Day celebrations.

Celebrating Australia Day on 26 January - which marks the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival at Port Jackson, New South Wales, in 1788 - has been a divisive issue in Australia.

In 1938, Aboriginal leader William Cooper organised a Day of Mourning to be held on January 26 to mark the 150^th anniversary of the beginning of colonisation.

At a meeting on Tuesday, the Inner West Council, which represents about 200,000 people, voted to no longer hold the Marrickville Community Festival, fireworks or Citizen of the Year awards on Australia Day.

Mayor Darcy Byrne acknowledged some residents may be disappointed, but said the events traditionally scheduled on January 26 would go ahead on different dates.

“There is a better and more sombre, more respectful way to mark the day in the Inner West,” he told SBS News. “People across Australia are grappling with how that date can be commemorated in a way that includes Aboriginal people and this is a small step forward.”

He suggested his constituents visit the Yabun Festival instead, which is held in Victoria Park and celebrates indigenous culture.

Australian historian Dr Bri McKenzie, from Curtin University, told The Daily Telegraph the decision is “progressive and forward thinking” and “something that shows awareness of our history, which seems to be lacking in Australian society”.

"From where I stand it would be much better for Federal Government to take the lead but given what we have in Canberra, and what we’ve had there for several years, I think it's fantastic that councils are taking the lead in this respect, along with cultural intuitions, and some individuals and groups,” she said.

The Federal Government has cracked down on councils campaigning to change the date of Australia Day celebrations, threatening to strip them of their right to conduct citizenship ceremonies if they do not hold one on 26 January.

Dr McKenzie said that she suspected some politicians believe “this is a political risk (for them) in adopting a more progressive point of view on Australia Day”.

“The reason there is a risk is most Australians don't know much about our history, because the education system has been quite poor in this area up until very recently,” she said.

Dr McKenzie said the lack of knowledge of Australia’s history caused a lack of empathy, another factor behind the attachment to celebrating the landing of the First Fleet, despite the event’s painful associations for many people.

“If you don't know the history and engage with it you won't be able to be empathetic,” she said.

Mr Byrne, the mayor of Inner West Council, told SBS News he was comfortable with holding a citizenship ceremony on 26 January but would increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement in the event.