January is usually a time for raking over the coals on the Republic. So far, it’s been quiet. This year, the annual Australia Day schisms have been overshadowed by disputes over James Cook’s place in our history. Dr Benjamin T Jones’ conclusions in this article interest us (click on link) about the current Government’s obsession with and overfunding of the Cook voyage 250th anniversary coming up in 2020, not to mention various of its members’ slim to non-existent grasp of the historical facts of British discovery and settlement. Jones states clearly: “Our nation has changed. Cook is no longer the national hero he once was, for the simple reason that Australians no longer see themselves as British, sharing in British achievements.” This observation, with which WfaAR agrees, is exactly why the coming Republic will need to be presented to the nation by Indigenous leaders as well as State and Federal Parliaments to make sure that it represents all of us. That cannot take place until such time as Indigenous Recognition in the Constitution has been dealt with as well as creating a Voice to Parliaments as set out in the Uluru Statement. Australia Day can only ever mark the arrival of the British to set up a penal colony in NSW. It is not a grand national day of achievement and celebration, more an excuse for a long weekend, beer and BBQs. We understand why Indigenous people name it Invasion Day, the start of their dispossession and disadvantage. This must also be addressed by 21st century Australians in a serious and respectful way. [“Rough seas ahead: why the government’s infatuation with James Cook may further divide the nation” by Benjamin T Jones, The Conversation online, 23 January 2019]
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
