Australia Day in Camden
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Australia Day in Camden

camdenhistorynotes

The Camden Australia Day celebrations opened with the awards at the Camden Civic Centre where the winners of the Camden Citizen of the Year  were announced for 2018.  At a national level there has been a debate about the date and the day. What does it mean? When should it be celebrated? Should it be celebrated at all?

 

The day, the 26th January,  is the foundation of the military penal settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788 and the anniversary of the coup d’etat against the Bligh colonial administration popularly known as the Rum Rebellion. By 1804, according to the National Australia Day Council,  the day was being referred to as Foundation Day or First Landing Day in the Sydney Gazette. On the 30th anniversary in 1818 Governor Macquarie declared a public holiday. In 1838 the 26th January was celebrated as the Jubilee of the British occupation of New South Wales and the 2nd year of the Sydney Regatta that was held on the day. The annual Sydney Anniversary Regattas started in 1837.

 

Sydney Anniversary Regatta 26thJan 1889 SLNSW
Sydney Anniversary Day Regatta yacht race held on the 26th January in 1889. The day was cause for great celebration for what had been achieved by the colony of Sydney. Many tried to forget the convict origins of the day. (SLNSW)

 

On the centenary of the First Fleet’s arrival at Sydney Cove in 1888 the day was known as Anniversary Day or Foundation Day and festivities were joined by Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand. In 1915 Australia Day was shifted to the 30th July to assist fundraising for the Red Cross and other patriotic funds after the commencement of the Gallipoli campaign.

 

Aust Day 1915 WW1 AWM
Australia Day 1915 was used for fundraising for patriotic funds following the opening of the Gallipoli campaign. In 1916 Australia Day was held on 28 July. Fundraising included street collections, stalls, sports days, concerts and a host of other events. In Camden the Red Cross raised over £600 over a three week period with a host of patriotic activities. (AWM)

 

It was not until the Australian Bicentennial that all states agreed to celebrate the 26th as Australia Day rather than as a long weekend. At the time Aboriginal Australians renamed Australia Day ‘Invasion Day’ and there has been debate about it ever since.

 

In 2018 the Camden town centre there was the annual street parade for the Australia Day celebrations with lots of keen participants. The town crier, Steve Wisby, led the enthusiastic crowd in a rendition of the national anthem and then a rejoinder of Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, OOyy, OOyy, OOyy. The parade included historical groups, school groups, community groups, a number of local bands, and emergency services.

 

Aust Day 2018 73rdFootRe-enactment
Australia Day 2018 parade with 73rd Foot Regiment Re-enactment Group passing the enthusiastic crowd at the John Street corner (I Willis)

 

Aust Day 2018 CHS Ute
Australia Day 2018 parade in Argyle Street Camden here showing the FJ Holden Utility driven by society VP John Wrigley accompanied by Julie Wrigley. Car courtesy of Boardman family (I Willis)

 

Aust Day 2018 Camden Show Float Miss Showgirl
Australia Day Parade 2018 in Argyle Street here showing the float of the Camden Show Society with Miss Camden Showgirl 2018, Corinne Fulford, sitting atop the hay bails. The Camden Show is the largest festival in the local area attracting over 30,000 visitors to the town and the Camden Showground. (I Willis)

 

A large crowd lined Argyle Street to watch the parade organised by the Camden Lions Club and the many community groups and businesses that took part in it.

 

Aust Day 2018 Crowd John St
Australia Day Parade 2018 in Camden here showing the crowd milling about the John Street corner. John Street had a number of stalls and other entertainment. (I Willis)

 

Early in the day celebrations began with the  Camden Australia Day Citizen of the Year. The 2018 Camden Australia Day Citizen of the Year was David Funnell. David has been a local businessman for many years and he is a descendant from one of the original European colonial settler families in the Cowpastures area.  He was a councillor on Camden Council (1977-1980, 2004-2012) and a member of a number of community organisations.

 

The other Camden Australia Day Award winners were:
Community Group of the Year — Everyone Can Dance Charity and Camden Lioness
Club
Community Event of the Year — The Macarthur Lions Australia Day Parade
Young Sportsperson of the Year — Amy and Natalie Sligar
Sportsperson of the Year — Maddison Lewis
Young Citizen of the Year — Lubna Sherieff.

These people are true local identities who all have stories to tell that become part of Camden’s sense of place and contribute to the the development of community identity.

 

The Camden Museum was open for Australia Day and by the end of the day hundreds of visitors had inspected the museum and its wonderful collection of local artefacts and memoriabilia.

 

Aust Day 2018 Museum Open Frances&Harry
Australia Day 2018. The Camden Museum was open and here are two enthusiastic supporters and volunteers for the museum. They are Frances and Harry Warner. These two larger than life Camden characters have spent their life devoted to the Camden community. They have lived and worked on Camden Park Estate for decades. (I Willis)

 

Camden Museum Aust Day 2018 [2]
The Camden Museum was very busy with hundreds of visitors on Australia Day 2018. Here some visitors are watching a video, while others are inspecting the displays. Visitors came from all age groups and enjoyed the museum collection. (I Willis)

The Camden Historical Society volunteer coordinator reports that there were 644 visitors to the museum on the day made up of adults and children. The visitors were looked after by  10 society volunteers who roamed around the museum making sure that the day went smoothly and did a sterling job answering their many questions.

Published by camdenhistorynotes