When a British penal colony was established in Botany Bay, New Holland, on 26 January 1788, Australia didn’t exist.
One hundred and twelve years later, on 1st January 1901, the nation of Australia was proclaimed. This is the real Australia Day, the day Australia came into being.
There are obvious problems with celebrating Australia Day on New Years Day and we need a long weekend somewhere between Christmas and Easter.
I suggest we celebrate the 26th January holiday as Indigenous People’s Day and celebrate the real Australia Day on a more relevant date, perhaps the date of our first and free election, the 29th March?
C Boyle, Durrumbul
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
