Australia Day
Just to remind us, after the disappointment of Botany Bay, and a small expedition looking for better land and fresh water that discovered Sydney harbour, the first fleet sailed in on this day in 1788. At dusk officers assembled around a flagstaff and as Marines fired volleys from their muskets, Phillip took formal possession of the continent. The first skirmishes with the people who lived there took place in the winter of 1788 and the last clashes occurred in the 1930s.
Wyn and I drove south to Kemspey, Dunghutti Country, for the Saltwater Freshwater Festival, an annual Aboriginal celebration of their culture.
In the yarning tent Guunumba came alive again with readings by Auntie Joan McDonald, Eden Davis and Lee Townsend .
