Australia Day Fireworks

Today is Australia Day. On Australia Day we Australians come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia. It's the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It was on this day in 1788 when Captain Arthur Phillip took formal possession of the colony of New South Wales and thus established Australia as we know it. Brisbane as a city wasn't established until 1842 and was originally established (like a lot of areas in Australia) as a penal colony.

Today is a day of backyard cricket, barbeques, and evening fireworks. On the Brisbane River as part of the Australia Day Festival they organised evening fireworks which my son and I went and saw. We watched most of it from the Victoria Bridge which gave a good view down the river with South Bank on our right, and the city to our left. The South Bank Parklands were full tonight with a wide cross section of the Brisbane public. It is great that so many people get out and about on this day, and also great that the majority of people have a public holiday. Unfortunately, since we now have almost unlimited shopping days, a lot of retail businesses still had to operate today, but that did mean we could get an ice-cream after the fireworks!


Many of our indigenous people do not necessarily celebrate Australia Day, but celebrate Survival or Invasion Day. This doesn't mean Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not proud Australians - their cultures rest firmly on pride, respect and care for this great land we all share. I recognise that it is truly our indigenous people who are the rightful keepers of the land, but ultimately, we're all just visiting!

Cheers, I Love Brisbane, Wes.

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