[Editor: This article, regarding Foundation Day (Australia Day), was published in The Advance Australia (Melbourne, Vic.), January 1913.]
Foundation Day and Australia’s progress.
By H. W. P. Brotherton, Junr.
If there is any one day in the whole of the year when “pride of country” should stir up the patriotic impulses of Australia’s citizens, it is Foundation Day, the 26th day of January, which marks the anniversary of Australia’s colonisation. It derives its name from the fact that it was on the date mentioned, in the year 1788, that settlement in Australia began. Our continent was believed to have first been seen by a French navigator in 1542. However, it was not until the year 1770 that exploration was commenced, when the noted British sailor, Captain Cook, explored the eastern coast; and in 1802 Flinders sailed round the whole continent, and gave to it the name which we have long learned to cherish. Great Britain, in 1788, established a penal colony at Botany Bay, but settlement soon afterwards began at Port Jackson, where now stands the time-honoured and progressive city of Sydney, founded on 26th January by its first Governor, Captain Phillip; and it was in that year, on the shores of Australia’s oldest city, that the British flag was hoisted.
It would be an unnecessary step to herein attempt a detailed account of our progress since the time of foundation. We know our remarkable advancement to be due, primarily, to the sterling qualities of our ancestors, who, upon their migration to these shores, set before themselves an ideal of patient labour and enterprise, and, putting up a fierce battle in their efforts to cope with the opposing forces of Nature, rapidly succeeded in their honourable venture. The task of the primeval agriculturist must indeed have been a strenuous one, since he had not the many great appliances and remedies that the advancement of science and mechanical skill have provided for the world’s present-day industry and use, but battled along in surprising contentment, clearing the way for successive generations by methods which nowadays would almost appear to border on absurdity. We cannot fail to realise the great debt of gratitude we owe to ancestors whose pluck and perseverance have made our path of progress clearer, and who have left behind them, as an example to their progenitors, an immortal record of patient labour, enterprise, and endurance. Happily, these progressive ideals of our worthy pioneers were continued by our settlers, and to meditate for a moment on the changes that have been wrought here during the 125 years of Australia’s existence as a unit of the British Empire, fills our minds with wonder at the ingenuity of man, and spurs us on in the pursuit of greater achievements, impressing firmly upon us that old adage which teaches, “What man has done, man can do.”
It is indeed gratifying to know that our primary Education system has been revised, for, though there has been magnificent work done in the past under that system, to keep pace with the times, there was urgent need for much reform in the matter of schooling the young people in subjects which will not fail to prove of practical service to them in the battle of after life. It is education — and education of the right sort — that plays the greatest part in our progress as a nation, and the one who is much lacking in that training finds it difficult indeed to gain a position of much merit, no matter what branch of work he prefers to labour in.
It has been said of Australians that they are a free and easy lot, and, generally, that quality is plainly exhibited. We are practically a self-governed nation, possessing almost all the liberty we could expect to have. Some of us take too much advantage of freedom, and are wont to far overstep the mark of propriety in a spirit of indifference. Without the shadow of a doubt, there is room for a stricter administration of government to cope with those whose inefficient training has, or apathetic dispositions have, left them in ignorance or indifference as to their conduct as units of an aspiring nation, and who practise their selfishness to the detriment of our land and to the discredit of themselves. But, happily, the movements that have been going on in our midst in the direction of social reform cannot fail to be an influence for good, thus preventing to a marvellous extent crime and ruffianism of all kinds, and bringing about an order of things which will wholly merit the sentiment so kindly uttered by the late Admiral Sperry during his recent visit to these shores, when he referred to our beloved country as “the Empire’s Queen Daughter of the Southern Seas.”
To the members of the Australian Natives’ Association Foundation Day should be of especial interest, as it is the occasion for which the huge display of Australian manufactures takes place at the Melbourne Exhibition Buildings, under the auspices of our great fraternity, in celebration of this time-honoured event, and also of the Federation of the Commonwealth, which took place barely 13 years ago amidst the rejoicings of a nation. The educational worth of such a display of the products of science and art is so well understood that interest in the yearly enterprise is well retained, and, when the fact is so plainly revealed that the work of Australian artisans can be placed at least on an equality generally with the productions of their numerous rivals abroad, the ever-growing desire of our people should be to see the Australian market reserved for things Australian-made. Thus is emphasised the national spirit of our association, and it remains for its thousands of members to strive to do their individual share in furthering its noble cause.
The sporting instinct of Australia is ever to the fore, and Foundation Day provides for the exposition of this talent in the holding of various kinds of sports — regattas, picnics, and the like. Though our Legislature has not provided for the compulsory observance of this great Australian Day of ours as a universal holiday, yet we trust the time is not far distant when our claim in this respect will be duly considered. Surely it is a day of as great an importance to us as is the 4th of July (Independence Day) to the Americans! It is a time for national universal rejoicing. Some might be inclined to look upon Australians as a people whose absorbing interest for sport has retarded national progress; but, though there are in our midst countless numbers who do abuse these means of recreation in a lamentable dislike to shoulder their share of the burden of a nation’s responsibilities, who is he who fails to realise that our present high standing as a nation which has triumphed in the sporting world, is proof positive of the honourable part sport has played in our public life. And there is doubtless as great a necessity for vigorous physical, as well as intellectual and moral strength, for the three-fold possession assures the greatest success.
As we regard the anniversary of our foundation, well might we rejoice in the fact that we are part and parcel of the world’s greatest Empire, and the inheritors of a country famous for its natural beauty and grandeur, its many resources and great productiveness. It is glory of heritage that Australians are to be proud of. Our possibilities are enormous, and it is for the individuals of the nation to follow, to the best of their ability, the grand example of their persevering ancestors; to think, with Shakespeare, “that all the world’s a stage, where each man must needs play his part.” By treading in the footsteps of such worthy pioneers, they will play their part in moulding for this fair Commonwealth a prosperous future — a glorious destiny.
“There is a land where, floating free,
From mountain-top to girdling sea,
A proud flag waves exultingly.
And Freedom’s sons the banner bear,
Freedom and justice reigneth there;
Fairest of Britain’s daughters fair —
AUSTRALIA!”
Source:
The Advance Australia (Melbourne, Vic.), January 1913, pp. 7-8
Editor’s notes:
In the text “who have left behind them, as an example to their progenitors”, the word “progenitors” apparently should have been “progeny” (descendants, offspring).
The verse at the end of the article is an extract from “The Song of Australia” (1859), written by Caroline Carleton (1811-1874).
Admiral Sperry = Charles Stillman Sperry (1847-1911), an officer in the United States Navy (rising to the rank of Rear Admiral); he was in charge of the Great White Fleet during its world tour (1907-1909), which included a visit to Australia; he was born in Brooklyn (New York, USA), and died in Washington, D.C. (USA) in 1911
See: 1) William Stewart, “Charles S. Sperry”, Great White Fleet
2) “Charles Stillman Sperry”, Wikipedia
3) “Great White Fleet”, Wikipedia
Australian Natives’ Association = a fraternal patriotic organisation and mutual society which was founded for the benefit of Australian-born white people; the organisation was originally established in April 1871 as the Victorian Natives’ Association, but in 1872 it extended its coverage to all of Australia
See: “Australian Natives’ Association”, Wikipedia
Botany Bay = a bay located to the south of the City of Sydney (New South Wales), located in the south-eastern section of Sydney’s greater metropolitan area; it was discovered in 1770 by the English explorer James Cook (1728-1779); Botany Bay was intended as the location for the first British settlement in Australia, but Governor Arthur Phillip (1738-1814) decided that the area was unsuitable, and instead founded the settlement further north, in Sydney Cove (in Sydney Harbour, Port Jackson, New South Wales), but, despite the change of location, the settlement was often referred to as “Botany Bay” for many years
See: “Botany Bay”, Wikipedia
Captain Cook = James Cook (1728-1779), an officer of the British Royal Navy, explorer, and discoverer of the eastern coast of Australia (1770); he was born in Marton-in-Cleveland (Yorkshire, England) in 1728, and was killed at Kealakekua Bay, in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), in 1779
See: 1) “Cook, James (1728–1779)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “James Cook”, Wikipedia
Captain Phillip = Arthur Phillip (1738-1814), an officer of the British Royal Navy, commander of the First Fleet, and the first Governor of New South Wales (1788-1792); he was born in London (England) in 1738, and died in Bath (Somerset, England) in 1814
See: 1) B. H. Fletcher, “Phillip, Arthur (1738–1814)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Arthur Phillip”, Wikipedia
Commonwealth = the Commonwealth of Australia; the Australian nation, federated on 1 January 1901
Flinders = Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) an officer in the Royal Navy (UK), explorer, navigator, cartographer, and scientist; he was the first person to circumnavigate the Australian continent; he was born in Donington (Lincolnshire, England) in 1774, and died in London (England) in 1814
See: 1) H. M. Cooper, “Matthew Flinders (1774–1814)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Matthew Flinders”, Wikipedia
Foundation Day = an earlier name for Australia Day, 26 January, which celebrates the anniversary of the foundation of the British colony at Sydney, New South Wales, in 1788 (the beginning of European settlement in Australia)
Junr. = (also spelt “jun.”) an abbreviation of “junior”, especially used as an appendage to someone’s name (normally a male) to indicate that he is the son of someone of the same name, whilst the father’s name may be appended with the abbreviation “snr.” to indicate that he is the senior of the two (e.g. “John Smith, snr., and John Smith, jun.”)
Legislature = a body which legislates (creates laws); a parliament; an institution of government with the power to make, change, and repeal laws
penal colony = a colony which is designated or used as a place for the detention of convicts (convicted criminals) who have been deported from elsewhere; historically, a penal colony is usually a place of harsh punishment, where convicts are engaged in forced labour (the word “penal” is derived from the Latin “poenalis”, from “poena”, meaning “punishment”)
Port Jackson = (also known as Sydney Harbour) the natural harbour of Sydney (New South Wales); the settlement of Sydney (and its surrounding area) was often referred to as “Port Jackson” in earlier years
See: “Port Jackson”, Wikipedia
progenitor = a direct ancestor or forebear; a predecessor; an originator, founder, or source of a development or idea; originator, precursor, predecessor
regatta = a boat race (which may be limited to a specified class or type of boat, e.g. rowboats, skiffs, yachts); an organised series of boat races
reigneth = (archaic) reign (govern, rule; ruling influence or power; hold sway, predominate, prevail)
retarded = delayed, hindered, impeded (especially regarding development); mentally retarded (i.e. mentally deficient, mentally underdeveloped, having limited or slow mental abilities, subject to learning difficulties); having an IQ level of below 70; (slang) very stupid
ruffianism = the behaviour or conduct of a ruffian (a ruffian is: a hoodlum, a thug, a violent criminal, a villain; a brutal, deceitful, unprincipled person who acts in an uncouth and rough manner; the term “ruffian” usually only refers to men, or sometimes to older boys)
Shakespeare = William Shakespeare (1564-1616), an English playwright and poet
See: “William Shakespeare”, Wikipedia
wont = custom, habit, practice; accustomed; apt, inclined
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