Overview
'Survival Day', 'Australia Day', and 'Invasion Day': these are just a few of the ways Australia's annual national holiday has been characterised. Holding a public holiday and national celebration on January 26 is understandably controversial: it marks the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, when Indigenous Australians were dispossessed of lands they had inhabited for tens of thousands of years previously. However, it is still a public holiday, so we've put together a list of ways you can spend your day off.
Barangaroo Delivery Authority.
ATTEND A MORNING CEREMONY
This year, Barangaroo's January 26 program will begin with the symbolic WugulOra Morning Ceremony – held at Barangaroo rather than the Sydney Opera House for the first time. The ceremony aims to acknowledge Australia's shared history and will include dance performances from the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company and the Jannawi Dance Clan, a young, community-based Indigenous dance company. The Kari Choir will perform the national anthem in local language, and there will be another performance of the song Budjari Guyalungalung Baraya-la ('Let's Sing Good Dreaming'), sung by 250 voices. The location also sets attendees up with a fantastic view of the Aboriginal and Australian flag raising ceremony on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
ATTEND A RALLY
Rallies addressing concerns from the date of Australia's national celebration to broader issues faced by Indigenous Australians, such as the treatment of juveniles in prison, are set to happen in major cities across the country. In Sydney, Fighting in Resistance Equally (FIRE) is hosting an Invasion Day rally. They have planned to start at 11am at the Block in Redfern before marching to Hyde Park. One of FIRE's objectives in holding the event is to "resist the ongoing war against Aboriginal people."
Australia Day Parramatta.
FIND THE BIG PARTIES AROUND TOWN
Many people also know January 26 as Hottest 100 Day — that fateful day when triple j announces the best 100 songs of the previous year, as voted by its listeners. While many people host private Hottest 100 parties, there are plenty of places to spend the countdown with like-minded music lovers.
This year, the City of Parramatta is hosting its own, huge Hottest 100 Party in Parramatta Park, with artists like L-Fresh the Lion, Olympia and Froyo set to play with the countdown streaming between sets. There will also be another 'Australia Day Party' stage featuring Eskimo Joe, Thundamentals and Thandi Phoenix. Share in the Big BBQ (90 metres of meat) at both events, plus amusement rides and backyard cricket games.
There are also pubs all around Sydney hosting their own Hottest 100 Parties, like the Annandale Hotel, Newtown Hotel and World Bar.
HIT UP A FESTIVAL
Yabun Festival is Sydney's major Survival Day event. Held in Victoria Park, Camperdown, each year, the festival "[seeks] to commemorate, bring attention to, and celebrate the survival of Australia's Indigenous cultures in the face of European invasion." The festival will include over 100 market stalls and performances across two stages from artists such as Terra Firma, Marlene Cummins, Loren Ryan, Lucky Luke and Salt Lake Band (Groote Eylandt). The drug and alcohol-free event will be on from 10am-7pm with free entry, though they ask for a gold coin donation.
You'll also find a huge electronic music festival happening on Sydney's Goat Island, with music fromNina Las Vegas, Ngaiire, Basenji, Kuren, Adi Toohey and Ariane, and food from sneaker-and-chicken connoisseurs Butter and Glebe's modern Lebanese joint Thievery.
WATCH A CLASSIC AUSTRALIAN FILM
Want to watch an Aussie classic on Australia Day? Ozflix, the first video-on-demand service dedicated to Australian films, will launch at 6pm on January 26 with a pay-per-view library of around 250 titles. With approximately 2000 Aussie-made films in existence, the streaming platform aims to become a one-stop-shop for local movies. "We are committed to making each and every Australian feature film available," says Ozflix CEO Ron V. Brown, who has been involved in the Australian screen industry since the 1970s. That includes the first works crafted in the 1900s, the newest releases, and everything from Newsfront to Strictly Ballroom, The Castle, Ten Canoes, Wolf Creek, 52 Tuesdays, Samson and Delilah and The Dressmaker. Of course, Stan and Netflix have their fair share of Aussie content too.
Want to get out in that balmy Aussie air and see a newer local blockbuster instead? St George Openair Cinema is showing Hacksaw Ridge, while Moonlight Cinema, Sydney Hills Outdoor Cinema and Movies by the Boulevard are showing Red Dog: True Blue (which Ben & Jerry's Openair Cinemas Bondi and Sunset Cinema in North Sydney are showing on January 27).
FIND THE BEST PICNIC SPOT IN THE CITY
Gather your crew or call up your best bud and have yourself a picnic to end all picnics. Sydney's home to a bountiful array of perfect picnic and balmy barbecue spots, from beaches to coves, national parks to foreshores. Check out these fabulous Sydney BYO barbecue locations and picnic plots.
Australian barbecue is a big deal, and though Aussies may be known for their sizzling cooking technique, we by no means limit ourselves to the standard backyard barbecue nosh. Sydneysiders are lucky enough to be surrounded by barbecue styles from around the world, from slow-cooked Texan barbecue to Korean-style to Japanese yakitori to Brazilian churrasco — so hunt down a recipe and celebrate Australia's cultural cornucopia of cuisine on your own hotplate.
ATTEND A TRADITIONAL SMOKING CEREMONY
Smoking ceremonies are an ancient Indigenous custom in which smoke is produced by burning native plants. It is believed that the smoke has cleansing properties and can ward off bad spirits.
This year, local elders and the Koomurri Aboriginal Dance Troupe are hosting a smoke ceremony on January 26 at Campbells Cove in the Rocks. The flame will be lit the night before at Belmore Park and stored on Goat Island, before being taken to the Walumil lawns at Barangaroo for the WugulOra Indigenous Morning Ceremony. Following this, the flame will be brought to Campbells Cove where dances and songs will be performed throughout the day, from 10.30am to 4pm. At 7.30pm, the Smoking Ceremony will also travel to the Sydney Opera House for the concert held there.
APPRECIATE THE CITY'S BEAUTIFUL BEACHES
Australia is lucky enough to have many of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and (arguably) the best of those are in Sydney. A day off work in the middle of summer is the perfect opportunity to tick a few more of Australia's stunning beaches off your bucket list, and appreciate the natural beauty of land we're lucky enough to live on. Not sure which beaches to hit up? We have you covered with our lists of Sydney's best beaches, Sydney's best harbour beaches and, probably the best option on such a popular beach-going day as January 26, Sydney's best secluded beaches.
BRUSH UP ON YOUR AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
January 26 is supposed to be about celebrating Australia, so it's good to know how we got to where we are now. Start your education by visiting some of Sydney's historic sites and museums. Entry to some of these — the Hyde Park Barracks, Museum of Sydney, Justice and Police Museum, Susannah Place Museum, Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Farm in Rosehill (about 45 minutes' drive out of the CBD) and Rouse Hill House and Farm (about an hour's rive out of the CBD) – will be 50 percent off thanks to Sydney Living Museums.
On January 25, head to the Australian Museum for Culture Up Late, which will be hosting 'Ngalu Warawi Mari – We Stand Strong', a night highlighting "Aboriginal resistance, protest and culture."
If you're feeling more present-minded, check out ABC Radio National's podcast 'The Real Thing', "a podcast in search of the real Australia" highlighting individual people and stories.
CHEER ON NOBLE DOGS ON PADDLEBOARDS
Every year on January 26, the dogs of Sydney take to the beach with their finest owners and make them paddle around the harbour — chuck in a ball and the role reversal would be complete. We are, of course, referring to the Every Man and His Dog paddle boarding event held annually by Watsons Bay Stand Up Paddle Boarding. There's a number of events set to occur over the day, which starts with registration at 7am. First up, there are races for adults and kids alike sans-dog (we're not sure why these are happening). There are two races including dogs — the 150-metre spring and the treasure hunt, where the dogs race to find as many toys as possible — as well as a competition to find the best-dressed human-dog duo.