Australia Day

Discover the origins of Australia Day and what it means to different people. In this topic, students use promotional material from our collection to consider how the meaning of 26 January has evolved and changed over time.

Module Time and place

Year 3 Humanities

Origins of Australia Day

Prior to 1935, 26 January was known as First Landing Day or Foundation Day in Australian states and territories. From 1935 onwards all jurisdictions used the name Australia Day to mark the date. Australia Day was not consistently celebrated as a public holiday across Australia until 1994.

Activity 1: Brainstorm

Conduct a class brainstorm to establish students’ current understanding of Australia Day.

Australia’s 150th anniversary celebrations

In 1938 festivities were held to mark 150 years since the landing of the First Fleet celebrated Australia’s progress and development as a nation.

The New South Wales Government organised a festival for 26 January 1938 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet. The festival included re-enactments of the arrival of Captain Arthur Phillip (the Commander of the First Fleet and the first Governor of New South Wales) at Port Jackson and of the flag-raising ceremony in Sydney Cove.

Tom Purvis poster

A vintage poster featuring a large blue-toned illustration of a man's face and hand, positioned above the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The man’s hand is raised with fingers partially curled. Below, the Harbour Bridge is shown at night with city lights reflecting on the water.

Tom Purvis, 1888-1959 & Australia's 150th Anniversary Celebrations Council & Australian National Travel Association, Australia's 150th anniversary celebrations Sydney - summer season, 1938, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135689940

The Australian National Travel Association chose Tom Purvis, at the time the ‘biggest name in British commercial design’, to create posters about the 150th anniversary for London billboards.

Purvis called poster design the ‘Cinderella of the Arts’, noting the successful design techniques employed in late 1930s Nazi propaganda. He became a vigorous advocate of the power of art to serve Britain.

Activity 2: Discover the message

Challenge your students to use their skills as historians to explore each source, analysing both the text and imagery, to discover the message it conveys. As a class, discuss what these sources can tell us about the origins of Australia Day.

What is an anniversary? What anniversary are the words on the poster referring to?
Why do you think the man is holding up a finger?
What bridge is shown on the poster? Why?
What does the small print at the bottom of the poster tell us?
What do you think this poster might have been used for?
Were Aboriginal people active participants in celebrating Australia Day in 1938?

John Allcot painting

This picture is from an 1937 oil painting by John Allcot. It was published as a supplement to The Sydney Mail on 26 January 1938.

A painting of several ships from the First Fleet sailing into Sydney Cove, surrounded by small boats and set against a backdrop of green, forested land. The ships are depicted with full sails, and the water reflects their presence. The scene is set on a clear day with calm waters, and the rocky coastline is visible in the foreground.

John Allcot, The First Fleet in Sydney Cove, January 27, 1788, 1938, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135776002

Activity 3: Imagine different perspectives

Australia Day has always meant different things to different Australians.

Challenge your students to imagine what people may have thought when they saw the 1938 newspaper supplement showing the First Fleet.
Students should brainstorm a list of different people who may have seen the newspaper (e.g. a child, a farmer, an Aboriginal person, an officer in the navy).
Ask each student (or group of students) to select a person from the list and to look at the picture from that person’s perspective.

Modern perspectives on Australia Day

Australia Day celebrates Australia’s diverse culture and achievements but also evokes mixed emotions, especially for Indigenous Australians, symbolizing colonization's impact. This activity encourages students to reflect on the day’s meaning, considering various ways it’s recognised, from festivities to protests, highlighting the diversity of perspectives in our nation.

Activity 4: Design a poster

Ask your students to think about Australia Day today.
Consider some of the ways it is recognised and what it means to them.
Invite your students to design a poster that could be used to promote the next Australia Day.