JANUARY 26, which marks the anniversary of European settlement in Australia, is a good time to reflect not only on our place in Australia but also the country’s place in the world.
The 224 years since Captain Arthur Phillip set foot on Sydney Cove have seen monumental change to the landscape of Australia and the lives of those who live here.
The urbanised, hectic, interconnected lives we live today would be completely unrecognisable to the convicts and Marines of The First Fleet, let alone the indigenous people who watched the tall ships sail past Sydney Heads.
Last century, two World Wars, and subsequent waves of migration, as well as the globalisation of the world’s economy and ensuing resources boom, transformed Australia from a distant island continent and British colony with a small, homogeneous population into a multicultural nation of 22 million people with strong economic ties to Asia.
While these changes have resulted in most Australians enjoying living standards that are the envy of the world, there have also been wrong steps taken, and times when reform has left some groups worse off.
From the White Australia Policy and the continued plight of indigenous Australians to the job losses in manufacturing as a result of reduction of tariffs in the 1980s, it cannot be argued that prosperity has always been shared equally amongst all Australians.
Overall however, we are well served by our institutions and enjoy living standards and a lifestyle that would have been unimaginable to those who came ashore on January 26, 1788.
So, as you enjoy a day off on Australia Day, take a moment to reflect on where we have come from and also to be thankful for where we are.