Australia Day, as a named national fundraising and patriotic day, was first celebrated on 30 July 1915, during World War I, to raise money for wounded soldiers.

Quick Scoop

  • The first official celebration of 26 January as an anniversary of British settlement in New South Wales was in 1818, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie declared a public holiday and ordered a 30‑gun salute for the 30th anniversary of the colony.
  • Earlier informal observances of 26 January existed and were called First Landing Day or Foundation Day , marking the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove.
  • The term “Australia Day” was first used for a special nationally coordinated fundraising day in 1915, held on 30 July to support troops in World War I.
  • All states first celebrated 26 January as “Australia Day” in 1935, creating a uniform national date and name across the country.

Why the Date Is Contested Today

  • 26 January marks the beginning of British colonisation in 1788, which brought dispossession and violence for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; many First Nations communities mark it instead as Invasion Day , Survival Day , or a day of mourning.
  • Public discussion in the 2020s frequently centres on whether to change the date , reframe the day’s meaning, or replace it with an alternative national day that does not celebrate the start of colonisation.

Forum‑Style Take: Different Viewpoints

“Keep 26 Jan – it’s our history, good and bad – but use it for truth‑telling and reconciliation, not just parties.”

“Australia Day shouldn’t be on the day the invasion began; if it’s meant to unite people, it shouldn’t fall on a date that is grief for many.”

Common positions in current debates include:

  • Keep the date, change the tone
    • Focus more on reflection, acknowledgment of past harms, and reconciliation events, alongside existing barbecues, concerts, and citizenship ceremonies.
  • Change the date
    • Propose an alternative day such as 1 January (Federation), 27 May (1967 referendum), or other symbolic dates that are less tied to invasion and frontier violence.
  • Rethink the whole concept
    • Some argue for replacing Australia Day with a different form of national commemoration that separates civic celebration from colonial anniversaries altogether.

TL;DR:

  • First official 26 January celebration in NSW: 1818.
  • First “Australia Day” (by that name), for WWI fundraising: 30 July 1915.
  • First time all states used 26 January as “Australia Day” : 1935.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.