On January 26th Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove in 1788. Convicts and sons of convicts began marking the colony's beginnings with an anniversary dinner.
Australia Day is an official public holiday and nearly everyone is off work. It is also called Invasion Day by some Indigenous people.
I experienced my first Australia Day on January 26th, 2011. Many families and friends go to the beach, have picnics, and barbecues (a very Aussie thing to do).
I spent the day with my boyfriend and his family and their friends. We walked up to Cronulla Mall for breakfast and to get a few things from Woolworths grocery store for the barbecue later. About 10 A.M loads of people dressed in red, white and blue began spilling from the Cronulla Train Station. Girls had on their cozies (swimsuit) and girls and boys had Australian temporary tattoos adorned all over their bodies. They had Aussie hats and t-shirts and fake nails. Boys had the Australian Flag as a cape. Many people had eskies (ice coolers) full of food and drinks.
I went with my boyfriend, his sister, her husband, and their baby to their friend Tim's house that was on the water for a barbie. It was a super hot day reaching 35 degrees! Lucky we were at a house with a pool and the bay to jump in. Beers, potato chips, and sausages were served and it was fun hanging out all day.
In every major city a firework show is performed for family's to enjoy. Also in smaller suburbs like Cronulla, (where I live) music, fun, and games are just the pre-show for a fantastic firework display.
