A Day in Oz

Well down here in Oz it is “Australia Day”.

Australia Day (The 26th of January) is that day when all us Aussies have a public holiday to remember. What are we remembering?
Well Aussies of non-indigenous ancestry remember the day a guy called Captain Arthur Phillip, led eleven tall ships (which we Aussies call “The First Fleet”) into Sydney Cove and established the first permanent European settlement in Australia.
Aboriginal Australians tend to remember the day the invaders from Europe began most of the problems they are still dealing with today.

Interestingly our approach to this day, our second most important national day (ANZAC Day in April is easily our most important), probably says a lot about us. There are no particular ceremonies or events that we are expected to participate in. Yes there are events like re-enactments of the good captain’s landing at Sydney Cove, and other “patriotic” events around the country.

Sydney Cove Australia day 2008

However, as a whole most of us see the day as an excuse for a relaxed day away from the office (so to speak).

In fact a good number of us, when the day falls on a Tuesday or Thursday see it as a good excuse to “chuck a sickie” and have two days off at the company’s expense. A quick note about Oz English: most Aussies are entitled to some form of paid sick-leave as part of their working conditions; to “chuck a sickie” is to take a day off when you are not sick and claim it as sick-leave.

Of course the inherent risk of a “sickie” is that your boss will turn up on the beach next to you. Excuses like “the doctor told me to get some sun” are not likely to wash in such circumstances.

The head of the Retailers Association, says people who joined the mass sick day so are un-Australian.
I’d have to disagree, one thing most Aussies have had in common since day one is a shared disrespect for both convention and authority. The “sickie” is a time-honoured symbol of that attitude and is probably as “Australian” as almost anything.

In fact one of our former Prime Ministers Bob Hawke, endorsed the "sickie" saying in 1983, "I tell you what, any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum."

Aussies would say the “sickie” is “as Australian as meat pies and Holden cars”. Of course this saying is absurd as the invention of meat pies vastly predates European settlement of Oz, and Holden is a local brand of the American company General Motors.

Judging by the amount of traffic that was not on the road when I was on my way to work yesterday the sickie is alive and well.

As you have all probably had enough of the vagaries of Oz culture, I will say a little about my Australia Day.

As many of you will already know, I take almost any day off as an excuse to get out of the city.

This time we struck a little father afield than usual, driving about two hours to Mansfield in the foothills of the Victorian section of the Australian Alps.

We stopped for a drink break at the war memorial park of a little place called Bonnie Doon.Then we drove on to Mansfield.

This interesting monument stands slap bang in the middle of the main street. Today it was festooned with flags (Australia Day remember). This rather elaborate memorial is to three policemen who: well read the thing for yourselves.I may post about the “Armed Criminals” at a later date so stay tuned.

I am getting a bit carried away, but it is late and I have an early start. I will have to complete my ramble in a further post.

So for now – Goodnight!