Australia Day commemorates the day on which Governor Phillip sailed into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) with a cargo of convicts to take possession of this continent on January 26 1788. It is now an orgy of nationalism and self-congratulation and, of course, a public holiday. Many governments, from local to Federal, hold festivities attracting millions of participants and we joined the throng in Commonwealth Park Canberra for fair-ground rides, non-stop performances (for kids, teens, and parents), naturalisation ceremonies (I recall, perhaps incorrectly, that something like 13,000 people from all over the world became Australian citizens), and the finale of obligatory fireworks.
It's a family occasion, and we (Dot and I) joined Beck, Rob and Max, along with Emily and Greg, for the festivities. It was a good day out in hot dry weather, and so multicultural. We sat in the shade of some trees surrounded by peoples of dozens of different ethnic backgrounds eating foods from another dozen different countries. I personally chose Dutch pancakes (Poffertjes) covered in rapidly melting ice-cream; nice!
The final fireworks were held on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin, named after the US architect who designed the city. As the sun finally dived behind the evening clouds, the sky lit up with an impressive human contrived display send up from barges moored on the lake between Commonwealth Park and the National Library in the Parliamentary Triangle. Once again, I was taken by the multicultural character of the event, and we were surrounded by people from all over the world including Africa, Asia and Europe.
AS
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