Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie has said people who oppose a possible date change to Australia Day are not aware of a key historical fact. Australia Day which is celebrated on January 26 has come under criticism from Indigenous community as it marks the arrival of the first fleet in 1788.
In recent times there has been lot of chorus about changing the date and Gillespie who has indigenous roots said that the argument that January 26 is the only appropriate date to celebrate Australia Day is wrong.
“What I find interesting is that when a lot of people defend Australia Day being on January 26 they say ‘it has always been January 26”, he told News Corp. “That’s factually incorrect. You go over history and that has not been the only day Australia has celebrated Australia Day.”
Gillespie’s argument is backed by facts. Its only since January 26, 1994 that all states and territories in have incorporated to celebrate Australia Day on the said date. Before 1994, certain states and territories staged celebrations on the Monday closest to the date. Also, the first official Australia Day celebrated in 1915 was on July 30. It was a way to raise much needed funds during World War I.
“It (January 26) is seen as a day of genuine and deep sadness for Indigenous Australians and not seen as a day to celebrate. If it creates such sadness (for many people) on such an important day of the year – and it has been moved before – surely there must be 300 or more days Australia could look at which could be a great day for everyone to celebrate,” Gillespie said.
In Australia’s rich cricketing history there have been only two cricketers from Indigenous background to play Test cricket. Gillespie was the first and more recently Scott Boland became the second. “I naively assumed that I couldn’t possibly have been the first,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide a few years ago. “With our rich, multicultural history in our country, with so many people from so many diverse backgrounds, I just assumed there must have been lots of [Indigenous] cricketers and lots of sportspeople.”
