Australia Day

Australia Day, a day of celebrations, mostly involving barbeques and alcohol.  But it is a great opportunity for a get together with family and friends.

The indigenous people are not so keen on Australia Day, as it is a reminder that the country was taken from them on the 26th January, 1788, when the first British colony was established in Botany Bay.  And then came the atrocities, as British rule continued to destroy the indigenous people's culture, laws and family life.   

Perhaps it would be a good idea to change the date so that everyone in Australia can celebrate the day together. The people who live in Australia now are not the same people that took over the country in 1788.  It is now a country with diverse cultures, and backgrounds, and the celebration should be about being Australian, not about some obscure date when Britain colonized the country.

But back to our Australia Day celebrations.  We decided after much discussion that we would celebrate Australia Day on the beach, in Aldinga.    Preparations were made the night before, with the responsibility given to Walter, Darren, Dave and Sonya to arrive early and set up two marques,  and reserve two more spaces. Hopefully in front of the toilets and not far from Dave's house.

This all sounded perfect except that at 9 am there was already a queue of cars entering the beach and every place on the first row above the high water line was taken.  

After collecting Donna, Scott and Lucy I arrived at 10 am to find the queue stretching for kilometres.  With the help of Google maps we zig zagged around the back streets and came out in front of the beach entrance, thereby bypassing the queue of traffic.  Andreena and John did the same thing.  A little bit of local knowledge does help.  The police closed access to the beach at midday, which also happened at Sellicks Beach and Moana.  A day at the beach was obviously high on everyone's list this year.

I look a little grim in this photo as I view the long queue of cars and hoped someone would let us in, which they did, thank goodness.

Our three marques, all set up in the photograph below.

A long line of vehicles and sun shelters.  When the tide came in, late in the afternoon, we all had to move.  But for the rest of the day it was perfect being in the front row.

There was a cafe, thank goodness.  Great coffee too.

Our view of the sea.  There were plenty of jet skis and motorboats, but they appeared to be driven responsibly.

There were not many people swimming in the morning, as it was a little overcast at that stage of the day.   Or perhaps people were just too busy drinking their beer, eating their barbeque food, and socialising.   Swimming was therefore not a high priority.  However people may have heard about the two metre shark somewhere out in the water. We were blissfully unaware of the shark, thank goodness.

The giant inflatable swan came out, but again the water was too choppy for lounging on the swan.

Scarlet and Lucy with their surfboards, certainly better for the rough sea.

Andreena and I relaxing in our chairs, and sipping our red wine.

Poppy also relaxing on her chair, or I should say, Patrick's chair, which he could not use as he was working that day.

One swan and the Australian flag.  Good mix there.

John very kindly cooked our meat, using his faithful charcoal barbeque.  The meat, sausages, lamb chops, kebabs and chicken, was cooked to perfection, and tasted delicious.  We all loved the oil, onion, and herb marinade on the lamb chops.

Walter brought his porterhouse steak for John to cook.  Luckily no one else brought steak, so his piece of meat was easily identifiable. And tender. And he managed to eat it easily, with his front feeth.  He still does not have his new clip on dentures.

Andreena, in her Aussie apron, and looking very cheerful,  finished cooking the last of the lamb chops.

A relaxing moment after lunch, and then it was off for a refreshing swim.

Now I wonder if all the people, in the photograph below, were paddling in the water as they knew there was a shark somewhere out there in the water.  But it was a lovely serene scene.  Ideal for photographs.

Thank you Donna for many of the lovely photos.  You were certainly the photographer of the day.

And for us, the best ever Australia Day celebration, with our family and friends, at Aldinga Beach.  Plus hundreds of other people, and their vehicles, a few police cars, and one two metre shark.