January 27, 2014

Australia Day 2014 Fireworks

National Australia Day was in full swing yesterday as 10.5 million Australians took part in celebrations of the lifestyle and all that is great about this beautiful country.

The day marks the anniversary of the 11 convict ships when left Great Britain for the colonies arriving in Sydney Cove in 1788 in New South Wales so it is about more than barbecues and fireworks. The concept of this celebration was not fully adopted by all states/territories as a National Day until 1994, over two hundred years later. Today, the celebrations also include numerous ‘Citizenship’ ceremonies across the country too.

Some of the events included:

• Harbour Concert - Featuring performances from chart-toppers from the continent.
• MS Colour Dash - 5k run, walk or stroll to generate funding to look into the effects and research into the crippling disease that is Multiple Sclerosis. Participants go along wearing a plain white t-shirt and visit a ‘colour station where they are showered with multi-coloured ‘rainbow dust’.
• Carnivale – Another for the boys – a gathering of car enthusiasts to see a huge number of veteran, vintage and classic cars and larger vehicles including buses and trucks.
• Air Show – Featuring an aerial display by the Australian Air Force.
• Fireworks display over the bay – 30 minute spectacular over the bay area.

Whilst Australia Day is widely celebrated across the continent, the indigenous Aborigine people still harbour a great deal of bitterness about the acknowledgement of the invasion of their country. I sincerely hope that they do eventually receive the peace that they so desperately wish to achieve.

Happy Australia Day.