A quarter of a century ago, my grandfather Ernest William Skyvington [1891-1985] died on this same day, 26 January 1985.
In a more recent domain, today is the 16th anniversary of my purchase of the Gamone property at Choranche. On 26 January 1994, the former owner, Marcel Gauthier, sold me his place through a transaction drawn up by the notary François Guiliani at Saint-Marcellin.
Today is also, of course, the 222nd anniversary of the arrival in Sydney Harbour of the eleven vessels known as the First Fleet, under the command of Arthur Phillip. Aborigines consider that this anniversary marks the sad moment when their ancestral land was taken out of their hands forever by intruders from the other side of the planet Earth.Let us hope that, one day, new events will replace the present anniversary.
A Republic of Australia with a new flag, a new national day, an appropriate relationship with the indigenous people of the continent, and a renewed spirit of audacity!
"A Republic of Australia with a new flag, a new national day, an appropriate relationship with the indigenous people of the continent, and a renewed spirit of audacity!"
ReplyDeleteYes to all of that!
You should be proud of your country!
ReplyDeleteCorina: That's a truly mind-boggling article, which summarizes perfectly the global situation concerning our planetary power and influence. We Aussies have known all along that we rule the world in countless different ways. But we're reserved folk, much given to quiet meditation, so we avoid to brag about this domination. You might say that it's one of our little Aussie secrets. As for Pride in My Country, it fills my heart constantly. Every morning, one of the first things I do, automatically (like every Aussie throughout the Cosmos, no doubt), while preparing my Vegemite on toast, is to ask not My Country what it can do for me but what I can do for My Country.
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