1. You should know that... The First Fleet didn't actually land in Australia on the 26 January
The First Fleet, the group of ships which left England to create a penal colony abroad, actually arrived in Botany Bay somewhere between the 18th and 20th of January 1788.
However, settlers decided to relocate on the 25th of January in the hopes of finding a more suitable area to construct their colony. They traveled to Sydney Cove and the next morning, on the 26th, Sir Arthur Phillip and a small entourage of marines and officers claimed the land in the name of King George III.
2. You should know that... The first sanctioned marriage between an Aboriginal person and a convict occurred on the 26 January 1824
Robert and Maria Lock were married in Paramatta.
This union was performed on the 26th only by coincidence and has nothing to do with 'Australia Day' as we recognise it. However Maria Lock is a historical figure in Australia and it's Aboriginal history.
Maria was the daughter of Yarramundi, known as the 'Chief of the Richmond Tribes', and the sister of Colebee who was captured, along with Bennelong, in 1789 and held at Government House (Colebee later escaped).
In 1814, Maria was the first Aboriginal child to be admitted to the Native Institution in Parramatta, where it is firmly believed that in 1819, at the age of 14, she topped the school examination ahead of twenty other children from the Native Institution and around 100 European students.
In 1822 she married Dicky, a son of Bennelong, but he fell ill and died merely weeks after their wedding. Two years later she remarried, this time to Robert Lock, an illiterate, convict carpenter from England who was assigned to her and placed under her supervision. This was the first legal Aboriginal-British marriage in the colony and they were wed at St John's Church in Parramatta.
In 1831, Maria petitioned Governor Darling for her brother's land grant in Blacktown and received 40 acres (which were put in Robert's name). She received a further 40 acres in Liverpool in 1833, and eventually received Colebee's 30 acres in 1843.
When she passed away in 1878 her lands were left to her nine surviving children and they were occupied by her descendants until around 1920, when the freehold land was considered to be an Aboriginal reserve. It was later revoked by the Aborigines Protection Board.
3. You should know... What Henry Parkes said about the 1888 Centenary celebrations
When Parkes (the then Premier of NSW) was planning the upcoming celebrations, he was asked what - if anything - was being planned for Aboriginal people in the Centenary celebrations. Parkes retorted, 'And remind them that we have robbed them?' - a harsh, but truthful response. One that many modern day politicians don't even recognise...
At the centre of his plans was to officially open the Centennial Parklands and dedicate 'a public open space for the enjoyment of the people of NSW' - Aboriginal people were excluded, however.
4. You should know that... A significant Aboriginal protest in 1938 rallied against Australia Day and called it the 'Day of Mourning'
A meeting the following a silent march and protest, unanimously passed the resolution, "We, representing the Aborigines of Australia, assembled in conference at the Australian Hall, Sydney, on the 26th day of January, 1938, this being the 150th Anniversary of the Whiteman's seizure of our country, hereby make protest against the callous treatment of our people by the whitemen during the past 150 years, and we appeal to the Australian nation of today to make new laws for the education and care of Aborigines, we ask for a new policy which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community."
The name 'Invasion Day' gained national prominence during the 1988 protests, but it is unclear whether or not this is the first time it was used. The first 'Survival Day' concert was held in 1992 but, again, it is unclear if this was the first usage of this name.
5. You should know that... The 150th Anniversary, Aboriginal people were forced to participate in a reenactment of the landing of the First Fleet
One of the events that were organised for the 1938 celebrations was a re-enactment of the landing and proclaimation of Captain Arthur Phillip.
According to the National Museum of Australia website:
'Aboriginal people living in Sydney refused to take part so organisers brought in men from Menindee, in western New South Wales, and kept them locked up at the Redfern Police Barracks stables until the re-enactment took place.
On the day itself, they were made to run up the beach away from the British – an inaccurate version of events. Film footage of the re-enactment clearly shows that the men were not willing participants.'
6. You should know that... The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the 26 January 1972
On 26 January 1972, four Indigenous men (Michael Anderson, Billie Craigie, Bert Williams and Tony Coorey) set up a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite Parliament House in Canberra.
Labelled the ‘Aboriginal Embassy’, the sit-in protest was symbolic of the fact that the government had made Indigenous Australians (in the words of Gary Foley), ‘aliens in our own land'. "So like other aliens, we needed an embassy," he said.
7. You should know that... On 26 January 1988, more than 40,000 people staged the largest march in Sydney since the 1970s Vietnam Moratorium demonstrations
Aboriginal protesters and non-Aboriginal supporters marched from Redfern Park to a public rally at Hyde Park and then on to Sydney Harbour to mark the 200th anniversary of British invasion.
8. You should know about... Archie Roach's 1988 protest song, 'Keep your handouts, give us back our land"
Recently A.B.Original's January 26th song caused some controversy with its staunch anti-Australia Day message, but there have been others protesting this celebration in the past.
Midnight Oil most famously released protests songs about Aboriginal land and government mistreatment, but Archie Roach's 'Keep your handouts give us back our land' is a damning condemnation of racism in Australia and the 1988 bicentennial celebrations. It contains the lyrics, "200 years is a long long time, 200 years we've been towing the line but no more, we say no more, no we've got nothing to be happy for, no, no. What we need is our independence, something to keep for our descendants before it's too late, no there's nothing here for us in '88. (Chorus) You might think that we already have too much, and you say the government has given us enough, but here's one you'll never understand: just keep your handouts, give us back our land."
9. You should know that... Australia Day was not consistently celebrated on 26 January as a public holiday in all states and territories until 1994
Even though the name 'Australia Day' dates back to the early 1900s, the nation taking it as an official public holiday is a much more recent development.
10. You should that... The triple j Hottest 100 wasn't always on the 26 January
The youth radio station has been criticised for facilitating Australia Day celebrations by hosting their music countdown event on the date that marks European invasion.
But rather than asking when will the Hottest 100 be moved from its 26 Jan date, consider asking when was the Hottest 100 moved to its 26 Jan date - and why?
The very first poll was counted down by the broadcaster on 5 March 1989.
And here's a bonus bit of info - You should know that... It wasn't until 2013 that the Aboriginal flag and the Australian flag were raised together on Sydney Harbour Bridge for Australia Day
ICYMI - that's only 5 years ago!
Discover more about Indigenous Australia with NITV's #AlwaysWillBe, an interactive line-up of truth, tradition and expression.
