‘Honour, respect and mourning’: Sydney marks Australia Day

Australia Day was a generally reserved and reflective occasion in Sydney, as locals marked the increasingly contested national day in a variety of ways.

As the sun rose over Sydney Harbour, portraits of Indigenous trailblazers Nanbarry, Barangaroo, Pemulwuy and Patyegarang were projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

The Sydney Opera House sails honouring the nation’s traditional custodians by Brett Leavy on Australia Day.

Shortly after, further along the harbour edge at Barangaroo Reserve, hundreds gathered around a traditional smoking ceremony, seen as cleaning away the old to celebrate new beginnings.

Kamilaroi man and media personality Matty Mills, who opened the WugulOra Morning Ceremony, said those four leaders featured on the Opera House that morning were freedom fighters, warriors, peacemakers and custodians of culture in a time of upheaval.

“Shining a light on their history and their contribution … can teach us all about our past which leads us to a more truthful shared future,” he said.

Premier Chris Minns reflected on the day 236 years ago when convict ships arrived in Sydney Cove and the British flag was raised: an “ordinary day, interrupted by an extraordinary arrival”.

Muggera dancers during the WugulOra Morning ceremony at the Walumil Lawns, Barangaroo Reserve.

“The Gadigal people couldn’t have known what those ships carried with them,” he told attendees. “Convicts, who themselves were the victims of a brutal justice system.

“But they must have sensed that something was coming.

“Being here today, what strikes me is the generosity of Indigenous people in sharing that culture with their fellow Australians.”

Yvonne Weldon, a Wiradjuri woman who is the first Aboriginal councillor in the City of Sydney, said the day was “a day of mourning for my people”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns during the WugulOra morning ceremony at the Walumil Lawns.

“We need to start this day with honour and with respect, to commemorate our ancestors that suffered for all of us.”

Attendees stood for a minute’s silence as a didgeridoo was played.

More than 20,000 people used the day to take their citizenship pledge to Australia. Hailing from more than 150 different countries, the new Australians were welcomed at ceremonies small and large – run mostly by local councils – throughout the country.

At a ceremony in Penrith, where people from 33 countries became Australians, Minns told attendees that they were “putting down roots in one of the greatest multicultural cities on Earth”.

Thousands gathered in Sydney to join the Invasion Day rally.

At the same time, thousands of protesters turned out for the Invasion Day rally in Sydney.

Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the provision of housing and health services for Indigenous Australians, and sanctioning Israel were among protesters’ key demands.

Lachlan Wright spoke about his son, Jai, who died in 2022 when the bike he was riding collided with an unmarked police car. A coronial inquest will begin on Monday.

“Less than two years ago, I lost my son. He was 16, forever 16 now,” an emotional Wright said. “There will eventually be justice. We won’t stop.”

Protestors marched from Belmore Park.

Another bereaved father, Ricky Hampson, addressed the rally about what he branded racism within the medical system.

His son Ricky Hampson jr died in 2021, less than 24 hours after he was discharged from Dubbo Base Hospital with perforated ulcers.

“We just want justice for our son. We are heading towards getting justice, we are hoping to get the doctors involved reported to the [Health Care Complaints Commission]. The other part of our fight is changing the hospital so our people feel safe going there to get treatment.”

The NSW coroner will investigate the death of Hampson jr, who had eight children, next month.

After two hours of speeches, the crowd marched south to Victoria Park along George Street, chanting “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land” and “They say accident, we say murder”.

Protestors rallied against Indigenous deaths in custody.

On the harbour, the annual Ferrython returned later in the day. Four of Sydney’s favourite Emerald class ferries – May Gibbs, Catherine Hamlin, Bungaree and Fred Hollows – all dressed in bright livery to represent their namesake.

Starting just east of the Harbour Bridge, the four vessels raced past Fort Denison before finishing just in front of the Sydney Opera House. May Gibbs won the race.

And over the harbour flew the Australian Air Force’s Roulettes, the force’s aerobatic display team, with multiple jets soaring over the city.

A Navy Seahawk helicopter towed a huge Australian flag around the city’s skyline.

And most of the city’s beaches were packed with locals desperate to escape the oppressive heat: the city reached 38 degrees, while Penrith hit 40 degrees.

On one of the busiest days on the state’s beaches, dozens were rescued from rips across the coastline, and a 16-year-old girl died after being pulled from the water following a boating accident at Grays Point in southern Sydney.

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