In Australia, January 26 is Australia Day - the day we celebrate the arrival of the First Fleet into Sydney Cove in 1788.
The Aboriginal population commemorate Invasion Day on the same day for obvious reasons.
But for most Australians, Australia Day is the chance to have a public holiday.
BBQ's, a day at the beach, catching up with family and friends are par for the course.
Every town and city organises some kind of ceremony -
naturalisation ceremonies, markets, exhibitions, concerts and fireworks abound.
The government announces its Australian of the Year and Order of Australia awards.
Triple J - our national youth indie radio network hosts the world's largest music poll -
The Triple J Top 100 countdown.
And Tamworth hosts The Australian Country Music Festival.
Sydney hosts all sorts of events, but my husband's favourite is the old car rally in Macquarie Street.
So this weekend I will take you on an old car journey through the streets of Sydney on Australia Day's gone by (because right now, as you read this, I'm supporting my husband's annual old car fetish & by tonight I'll be too hot and bothered to post anything!!)
In 2011, Mirazozo camped out on the forecourt of the Opera House.
It was an amazing tunnel of coloured lights and patterns - fortunately it was also air conditioned!
Sydney being Sydney means lots of boats on the harbour.
We have ferry races, tall ships and pleasure cruises galore!
Happy Australia Day!
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains;
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror-
The wide brown land for me!
-Dorothea Mackellar-
Saturday
Snapshot is a meme hosted by
Alyce at At Home With
Books.
The rules are simple:
To participate in the
Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have
taken and leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be
old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for
all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you.
Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
Happy Australia Day Brona! What a great post. I realised too late that I should have done one for Australia Day. Ah well. I had no idea there was a vintage car rally in Macquarie Street. I went into that light tunnel too (was it really two years ago already?), and was very grateful for the air conditioning on a rather hot day. I hope you had a lovely day again today.
ReplyDeleteI love old cars and your photos of the harbor are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHappy Australia Day! Love the photos, especially the cool light tunnel.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that lovely tour! Looks like it was a fun and festive day.
ReplyDeleteI have only been to Australia once and we spent most of our time with my sick uncle in Perth. But we dd get to spend three days in Sydney and I've been fantasizing about moving there ever since.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem by the way.
Beautiful pics, I want to go there!
ReplyDeleteIt's just so neat to see others patriotic celebrations! It sometimes seems that American media makes this country out to be the granddaddy of patriotic partiers, but it sure looks like Sydney puts on a real party for all you Aussies! Happy Australia Day!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. Happy Australia Day to you!
ReplyDeletecarol
Have you been to Tamworth, Australia? What is it like? I'd love to know, since I live in Tamworth, England. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/GVIbC
ReplyDeleteI have been to Tamworth numerous times as it's on the route north to the area my grandparents lived when I was young. We would often stop in Tamworth as the half way point therefore my knowledge of it is limited to cheap family hotels and take away food joints!
DeleteHowever I have friends who go regularly for the Country Music Festival on this weekend and they LOVE it to pieces. It's basically a small country city, proud of it's country heritage.
Beautiful photos. When you are in Sydney, do you see the place where the Olympics were held a few years ago? Love the poem too.
ReplyDeleteHomebush is the area where most of the Olympic events were held and we regularly go back to see other sporting and music events there. The road they used for the marathon and road cycling is one of our regular routes and it is still has the (now faded) blue line for the athletes to follow running along it :-)
DeleteThat sounds like a wonderful celebration! That is one weird looking tent structure, but the inside seems like it would be a lot of fun to see.
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Happy Australia Day, the celebrations look like a great time :) Book Savvy Babe
ReplyDeleteWhat a tremendous event, very colourful.
ReplyDeleteFascinating events....Happy week-end♫♪
ReplyDeleteI don't know what I enjoy more, the awesome fire truck or the foot shot in those crazy tunnels....okay it's the tunnels.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy the car shows. We have 'cruise nights' too. There's no awards or anything, just park your show car on the street and enjoy the evening. It's still winter here, but soon, soon!
ReplyDeleteOh I love your shots! What a beautiful country! I hope to visit one day...
ReplyDelete