Posted on by Debbie

Australia Day 2017

Today is Australia Day (Thursday January 26) and every year an advertisement is made by Meat and Livestock Australia encouraging us to eat lamb.  They are often controversial adverts and this year’s ad is no exception, with many  critics.

What do you think of the advertisement? Do you think it’s funny, insensitive, clever, inclusive, divisive….. I have my own thoughts but I’d much prefer to hear your views.

Here’s some information about Australia Day from the official website:

On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what’s great about Australia and being Australian. It’s the day to reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation. It’s the day for us to re-commit to making Australia an even better place for the future.

Australia Day, 26 January, is the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of 11 convict ships from Great Britain, and the raising of the Union Jack at Sydney Cove by its commander Captain Arthur Phillip, in 1788 (you can read a comprehensive history of the evolution of Australia Day here).

Though 26 January marks this specific event, today Australia Day celebrations reflect contemporary Australia: our diverse society and landscape, our remarkable achievements and our bright future. It also is an opportunity to reflect on our nation’s history, and to consider how we can make Australia an even better place in future.

On Australia Day, half of the nation’s population of 24 million attend either an organised community event, or get together with family and friends with the intention of celebrating our national day. Many more spend the public holiday relaxing with family and friends.

Yet Australia Day is much more than barbeques and fireworks…

I will be cooking a BBQ with my Rotary colleagues at Tumbarumba’s Australia Day ceremony, where we will honour those who have made significant contributions to our community with Australia Day Awards.   We will share conversation with friends, congratulate our awardees, eat sausage sandwiches, Australia Day cake and appreciate the fact that we live in a beautiful country that has been here for millions of years.   We have an amazing history and I am proud of our ancestors who were here long before us.

How are you planing to spend your day?

This verse of Dorothea MacKellar’s  poem My Country is a favourite of mine so I thought I’d share it with you on Australia Day:

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains, 
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding ]rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror
The wide brown land for me!

Whatever you do on Australia Day, make sure you enjoy yourself.  Life’s too short to be miserable.

Thongs
A pair of ‘I love Sydney’ thongs – preferred footwear 

Deb 🙂

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30 Replies to “Australia Day 2017”

  6. Hey Deb! Happy Australia Day! I loved Lee Lin Chin’s Australia Day lamb ad last year, and I love this too.
    I think that it addresses very serious issues in a typically Australian way – with humour and good will.
    after all, apart from the First Australians, we are all boat people.
    Change the date!

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    1. I agree with you about the date!! They’re known for their ‘different’ ads but I always think they are typically Australian with the humour aspect. Happy Australia Day to you too Debbie. 🇦🇺

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  8. At first I thought oh god this so insensitive and how did this ad get through but come the end it made me smile and the point got across. Obviously glosses over a lot of painful history but hopeful highlights to everyone regardless of where we came from we are all Australian. Hope you had a good day x

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  10. I loved it. All sorts of people are included. I watch a lot of Australian television, so I get the dialect, the jokes, their friendly nature, and why cooking on the barbie would probably bring out the crowds. Well, not this many, but what’s wrong with stretching history a bit? Good times!!! Great scenery!!! Lovely beach!! Excellent advertising for people who hope to one day travel to Australia & get in on the adventure!!!

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  11. It’s an interesting ad. Does make the point about diversity but rather glosses over a) the impacts of British colonisation on the Aboriginal people, and b) the on-going racism and discrimination against new Australians. I’m trying to imagine what a local version might look like based around Waitangi Day!

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  12. Well I’ve just stayed up till 10 past midnight to watch that. That’s 5 mins I won’t get back😂😂. Not a bad sentiment I suppose although bit of a predictable mickey take of the Brits. Enjoy your day. I will be at work😕 But first to bed for 6 hours!!🇬🇧🇦🇺🎉

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    1. Thanks for staying up late to watch it! Sorry it was 5 minutes of life you’ll never get back 🙂 It’s very stereotypical and all that but quite typical of the ad creators..

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