New Catallaxy

Flag flying on Australia Day

On Australia Day I fly the national flag from our front balcony. From both directions along our street it can be seen. Never once have I thought this action is a political statement. Until now.

Australians tend to shy away from overt displays of politics. Yes, we vote; that is a given in a compulsory voting system. But looking around the suburbs, among the callistemons, camellias or cacti, you would never know your neighbours’ political opinions or voting intentions. This is not to say they, or we, do not have them. It is just that we do not ordinarily share them with the neighbours via lawn signs and other showy displays. It is not our thang!

However, flying the flag is something different. Flag flying became de rigueur during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when we were all encouraged to get behind our sporting heroes. As a sporting nation, this was not a hard thing to do.

From then on Australia Day really became a “fun-ly” patriotic day of BBQs, sporting activities and free events organised by community groups, state governments and town councils. Business got into the act by sponsoring different activities and events, both locally and nationally. All manner of Aussie themed merchandise from bunting and napkins to beach towels and bikinis gave retail sales a lift between Christmas and Easter, and for which the big (and small retailers) were truly thankful. Along with the AOTY awards, fireworks displays and citizenship ceremonies, the Australian Open, and what was once the Adelaide Test Match fixture, this was a day to celebrate being Australian.

My Australia Day flag flying has always fitted perfectly with the tenor of the day: pride in the Australian way of life, pride in its people and their achievements, and pride in our past and in our future.

This year, numerous large and important companies decided to ignore the day because of the ubiquitous “diversity and inclusion.” Some companies have even offered to allow their employees to work and take another day off at some other time. Message to these imbeciles, many people work on Australia Day and on the other national days and holidays throughout the year. Working Australia Day does not mean that Australia Day is of no importance to those workers. But such statements fit nicely with the current fashion to delegitimise us and our national day.

Will I take down the flag? Not on your life! Will I fly the flag on January 26 next year? You betcha! Today, I made a political statement.

Bar Beach Swimmer

42 responses to “Flag flying on Australia Day”

  1. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Same here – flag on balcony – a first for me
    (only place selling flags was a ‘reject’ shop)

    As people streamed past on their way to the beach, they couldn’t miss my fluttering flag.

    8
  2. Mak Siccar Avatar
    Mak Siccar

    I’m totally with you BBS – well done. I fixed our flag to the gutter at the front of our house at about 8 this morning, and I just might leave it there for several days.

    5
  3. Wally Dalí Avatar
    Wally Dalí

    Big ups, BBS
    I’m way off the grid, but I’ve got an old Red Ensign to hang off the verandah… it’s got nothing to do with sticking it up all of the soft-left southwesterners turning up later on.

    4
  4. Katzenjammer Avatar
    Katzenjammer

    Beware – doing ordinary things is called contentious nowadays.
    Anything ordinary and normal is far-right fascism.

    10
  5. Cassie of Sydney Avatar
    Cassie of Sydney

    Happy Australia Day.

    Thank you BBS. You perfectly echo my thoughts. I’m at my sister’s place and she has the flag flying!

    This morning I walked into my local IGA and I said Happy Australia Day in a big loud voice. On hearing my celebratory salutation, the young faces said nothing and there were a few embarrassed faces. What is clear is that this undermining of Australia Day is effecting the young. It’s having the desired effect.

    Let me say this, and I can’t reiterate it enough, I wrote something similar on the Cat two or three days ago, this self-loathing crap and lies about “sorry day”, “invasion day”, “sad day” and all the rest of the derisive and evil propaganda we’re subjected to about Australian Day and white settlement in 1788 has NOTHING, NADA, ZERO AND ZILCH to do with the date of 26 January. NO. It’s all about the progressive left and far-left undermining Australia, undermining everything about our parliamentary democracy, undermining Western Civilization, undermining our Judaic Christian heritage, undermining our values, undermining EVERYTHING. They are doing this across the West. If we were to replace 26 January with 5 February, with 10 May, with 18 August, with 20 October, we’d still be subject to the cries of “waaacissmmmm” and “invaaaaaaasssssiooooon” and all all the rest of the hyperbolic bulldust that the left love to toss about, so as to delegitimise this country, our heritage and our history.

    I’m indigenous and I suspect most Cats are. We love this country, far more than the hustler progressives who spend their time undermining this wonderful country. I am just as indigenous as Lidia Thorpe, Linda Burney and Pat Dodson. I think it’s high time we ordinary average Australians said ENOUGH and fought back against this putrid, rancid, and evil ideology called progressivism.

    46
  6. Cassie of Sydney Avatar
    Cassie of Sydney

    “Anything ordinary and normal is far-right fascism.”

    Indeed…even today in the Daily Telegraph, they described a small group of pro-Australia Day protesters who turned up this morning to defend this country’s birthday at the “Invasion Day” rally, the DT journalist described the protesters as “right-wing nationalists“. Well okay then, I’m a proud “right-wing nationalist”.

    26
  7. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    Christinesays:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:39 pm

    Christine, you can get one from your local member.

    1
  8. Boambee John Avatar
    Boambee John

    Mak Siccarsays:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:41 pm
    I’m totally with you BBS – well done. I fixed our flag to the gutter at the front of our house at about 8 this morning, and I just might leave it there for several days.

    Be careful that you do net leave yourself open to official harassment. IIRC, under the Flags Act, the flag must either be lowered before sunset, or illuminated all night.

    I doubt that they would normally care, but we have seen a tendency over the past two years to see a crackdown on anyone who diverges from the PC line.

    4
  9. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    Mak Siccarsays:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:41 pm

    I used to put the flag up for the one day but for about the last 3-4 years it’s been staying up for the whole week! (I took my lead from National Reconciliation Week).

    12
  10. Boambee John Avatar
    Boambee John

    do not leave …

    1
  11. flyingduk Avatar
    flyingduk

    Sadly, after serving under and saluting the Australian Flag for decades, the events of the last 3 years have destroyed any respect I have for it, for many of its citizens, and almost all of its ‘leaders’.

    My flag is the Red Ensign now, and I will only fly it upside down until this country is healed.

    27
  12. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    “Anything ordinary and normal is far-right fascism.”

    KJ, when I was writing this post – and the point I was attempting to make – was just that. My flag flying has been made by others into a political statement, whether I wanted it that way or not. Now, with the flag flying above us, anyone driving down our street could point to this house as being the residence of such as that.

    I don’t know how I’ll survive it /sarc.

    9
  13. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    Cassie:
    I am
    you are,
    we are, indigenous.

    13
  14. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    FD,
    I, too, will never forget what these f**king arseholes did to this country and its people. We are still in distress. But I won’t them tear down my flag flying.

    7
  15. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Every Australia Day we fly a big Australian flag from our verandah which is very visible to anyone looking in our direction from the harbour or Watsons Bay. I regret that we are away and unable to do it this year. This denigration of the flag is disgusting. Where is the RSL on this? And yes, they are trying to destroy something which is very importantly Australian by changing the date, which as Cassie says will do nothing to appease the haters. I wish that I had been able this Australia Day to take the fifteen minute walk over to Nielsen Park and see how the day was doing there – usually it is packed to the hilt with people having BBQ’s – and the majority of them are ethnics – New Australians – of some sort.
    Renos at Neilsen Park may have made this less likely now though at present when I think of it.

    Do Cats have any reports on how successful attempts are to get people to stop celebrating?
    Cassie’s tale of the local IGA younger set reflects the nature of wokeness in Wentworth.

    6
  16. Old Lefty Avatar
    Old Lefty

    To add to Cassie’s list of thing being undermined: the rule of law, or what we used to think of proudly as British justice. Property rights and freedom of thought and expression in the civil sphere, the presumption of innocence, the right to defend yourself in court and to make the prosecution prove its case beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal sphere just for starters. The undermining isn’t some distant prospect: it has started already.

    11
  17. Bluey Avatar
    Bluey

    I’m seeing more flags from other nations than Aussie flags in my area. Full of very nationalistic immigrant families in this area, and they are not nationalistic about Australia. Many open talk about making money here and retiring back to the old country.

    I have similar feelings to Duk.

    7
  18. HT Avatar
    HT

    flyingduk says:
    January 26, 2023 at 4:05 pm
    Sadly, after serving under and saluting the Australian Flag for decades, the events of the last 3 years have destroyed any respect I have for it, for many of its citizens, and almost all of its ‘leaders’.

    My flag is the Red Ensign now, and I will only fly it upside down until this country is healed.

    Excepting I see nothing in the Red Ensign, I agree. I no longer fly or display my flags (presented to me when I resigned from the army, they were; the last flag to fly over a historic military barracks and the first to fly over the new facility).

    5
  19. Damon Avatar
    Damon

    If someone wants to work on Australia Day, that is their prerogative. They get paid for their work, if they do not wish to take a holiday, that s their decision. I simply do not see why they should be offered an alternative as ‘compensation’.

    10
  20. HT Avatar
    HT

    Damon says:
    January 26, 2023 at 7:01 pm
    If someone wants to work on Australia Day, that is their prerogative. They get paid for their work, if they do not wish to take a holiday, that s their decision. I simply do not see why they should be offered an alternative as ‘compensation’.

    I don’t the whole “if you don’t like the monarchy then don’t the Kings Birthday holiday” (insert whatever PH you like here). I see it simply, there are 10 PH’s per annum; we Australians typically work 210 days of the year. If we’re King die a day, I’d declare 12 PH’s a year to be held on the first Monday of every month, call the day whatever the Hell you want to. The day off each month can be renegotiated with the boss as you both see fit.

    1
  21. Old School Conservative Avatar
    Old School Conservative

    My flag is the Red Ensign now
    This led me to a little duck-duck-going and I read for the first time about the WWI “snowball marches” which included a Red Ensign used by the Delegate to Goulburn march which has The Men from Snowy River emblazoned on it.
    What interesting history does Oz have.

    4
  22. Old School Conservative Avatar
    Old School Conservative

    I’d declare 12 PH’s a year to be held on the first Monday of every month, call the day whatever the Hell you want to

    The issue I have with that idea HT is that you raise the concept of public holiday to a first ranked position, above the reason to celebrate.
    That is, having a day off is more important than celebrating Christ’s birthday, or his resurrection: Australia’s founding is pushed out of sight in favour of a holiday; people would no longer be commemorating all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in war.

    What we actually need is a brave conservative leader to take the fight to the “invasion day” dweebs and ramp up all celebrations surrounding Australia’s foundation birthday, and even go further and make a big noise about Lieutenant James Cook claiming the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770.

    10
  23. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    What we actually need is a brave conservative leader to take the fight to the “invasion day” dweebs and ramp up all celebrations surrounding Australia’s foundation birthday, and even go further and make a big noise about Lieutenant James Cook claiming the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770.

    Spot on, OSC.

    Trying to pretend it’s just a management issue won’t help us. Were we to do that it would mean that we can be bought off by any tidbit.

    To be a conservative is to uphold specific values, knowing full well that it’s those values that maintain and nurture our culture and its people.

    Getting a generic public holiday is not the kind of value that draws people in. Instead, it buys them off. The result of which is the spoils of societal support going to the highest bidder. Like water and gravity.

    5
  24. HT Avatar
    HT

    Old School Conservative says:
    January 26, 2023 at 8:32 pm

    PH’s these days have pretty much lost all meaning. In Victoria they have Melbourne Cup and Grand Final Day, Show Day, Queens (now Kings) Birthday (neither of which are the actual birthday), Labour Day (12% of people in the unions) etc etc. With the exception of Easter and (maybe) Christmas which are Christian holidays and ANZAC Day, the others are just excuses for a day off, for non-christians all of those days except ANZAC Day are just reasons for a day off. Even the Australia Day PH was the first Monday following the 26th Jan until Kennett changed the law during his term as Premier (what, 15-20 years ago or thereabouts?).

    I agree with your sentiments, but the pragmatist in me says we have 210 working days in a standard year, how we distribute them is really just an IR negotiation. I can’t see us ever going back. Before I retired, I actually negotiated with my staff around the basis of 210 working days a year – how would you like to “do that time” consistent with meeting your KPI’s? It worked very well for our business model.

    1
  25. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    HT, with respect, I think your pragmatist is missing the point. PHs are not about work, although lots of Aussies have to work them. Most PHs are about specifics have important messages and symbols. Just because not everyone upholds those messages and symbols in a society or culture does not mean that they should be jettisoned. Were we to do that the void created would not be filled by nothing. Humans require meaning in their lives and they will turn to whomever fills in the gaps of understanding for them. Which is why the left has taken over education.

    7
  26. Cassie of Sydney Avatar
    Cassie of Sydney

    OSC….

    Agree 100%. I wait and I wait and I wait, but given our dearth of brave principled conservative and right of centre politicians* in this country, I fear I’ll be waiting a long time for a “brave conservative leader to take the fight to the “invasion day” dweebs and ramp up all celebrations surrounding Australia’s foundation birthday, and even go further and make a big noise about Lieutenant James Cook claiming the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770.”

    I know I should never give up hope but it’s hard not to.

    * I’ll make an exception for Keith Pitt, Senators Price, Rennick, Antic, Roberts and Hanson, all fearless, but it’s slim pickings in our motley assortment of conservative and right of centre politicians.

    8
  27. Pogria Avatar
    Pogria

    Every single one of the City, white skinned Abos have to have hammered home to them, publicly, the fact that they. would. not. be. here. if it hadn’t been for the white man.

    When was the last time Aboriginal Australia had a Full-Blood representative? Correct me if I’m wrong but, wasn’t it Neville Bonner?

    8
  28. Megan Avatar
    Megan

    Our flag has been out and proud today, as has one at my sister’s place. I’m over being told by every woke DickHead and Hazbeen how I shoukd not celebrate our National Day.
    If they wanted to keep their country their sainted ancestors needed to fight for it at the time. If La Perouse had double crossed Capt. Cook any indigenous that managed to escape the standard French colonisation methodologies would be a very tiny minority celebrating ‘Vingt-Six Janvier Jour de Fête’ today.

    11
  29. HT Avatar
    HT

    All good BBS. I’m all good for values, symbols, meaning and preserving the accumulated wisdom of the ages. I just happen to think reason for a particular PH set by the legislature as, essentially an IR outcome isn’t a trench to die in. (the reason Victoria has Grand Final day was because Victoria had one fewer PH’s than the other states, so Andrews added one, one of the very few things I ever agreed with that prick with ears about).

    Besides, whilst we conservatives may believe in values and principles, and those values and principles have a familiar look and feel to most of us, it’s not true (and may it ever be so!) that we don’t value particular traditions equally. We aren’t clones as are the lunar left who follow the “current thing”. I can’t believe we gat a PH for a bloody horse race, or a football game, or to celebrate unionism, or to attend the Royal Show, or for the birthday of a monarch who was not born early July etc. I take your point about observing religious beliefs howsoever, but respectfully note there are plenty of religions that aren’t Christians (we call that lot heathens 😉 )

    Personally, and probably I’m more a libertarian than a conservative, I value people as individuals, and as I alluded to negotiated broadly around how each employee structured their working year (I was blessed to be in an industry that we could do that). It allowed for example Christians to observe Easter but Muslims to shift their “Easter” to Ramadan, etc. we even had a Confucian who celebrated the 10 day holiday period coinciding with the birthday of Confucius. There was an interesting chap…and that was and is in alignment with some pretty important values and principles not only of my own, but of others with varying perspectives and differing allocation of priorities.

    But I think I’m way off topic now! Enjoy BBS, and good luck getting the genie back in the bottle. I’m with you all way for getting a decent conservative leader although I’m beginning to believe that’s like hunting unicorn’s these daze.

    3
  30. HT Avatar
    HT

    Pogria says:
    January 26, 2023 at 9:47 pm

    …When was the last time Aboriginal Australia had a Full-Blood representative? Correct me if I’m wrong but, wasn’t it Neville Bonner?

    Umm, how will “The Voice” define aboriginality, a blood test? DNA? So much wrong with The Voice that’s it’s sure to get up in the Noddy Land we call home today.

    6
  31. Damon Avatar
    Damon

    “how will “The Voice” define aboriginality”
    The only objective way would be via DNA testing, and that would have to be against a panel of ‘aboriginal’ DNA. Good luck collecting that.

    3
  32. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    (need to ) make a big noise about Lieutenant James Cook claiming the east coast of Australia for Britain in 1770.

    .. including the fact that he kept deliberately quiet about his most important strategic findings, deliberately altering his charts to hide both Bass Strait and even more importantly, Sydney Harbour, where he threw all cartographic emphasis on a little uninteresting and scrubby bay further south where Joseph Banks took up some plant samples (Cook’s ruse that he ‘missed’ the Sydney harbour heads held water until Margaret Cameron-Ashe’s work very recently – see Quadrant books). This stopped the French from putting dibbs on south-eastern Australia – the First Fleet arrived only three days before the French under La Perouse. It was a genuine race to make a claim. Cook’s patriotism thus allowed the later subtle settlement of Sydney Harbour under the aegis of going to Botany Bay. The road from nearby La Perouse is still called Frenchman’s Road. It was the route taken in 1770 by Cook overland to view Sydney Harbour, realise its potential, and keep stum about it. When the French arrived they used this wallaby track to make contact with the Fleet anchored in Sydney Harbor, who put up the harbour inlet British flag you see in Dover’s header on january 26. So January 26 is super important to our Nation’s founding. Don’t mess with it. Nor denigrate Cook’s memory.

    10
  33. Gabor Avatar
    Gabor

    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare says:
    January 27, 2023 at 2:49 am

    When the French arrived they used this wallaby track to make contact with the Fleet anchored in Sydney Harbor, who put up the harbour inlet British flag you see in Dover’s header on january 26. So January 26 is super important to our Nation’s founding. Don’t mess with it. Nor denigrate Cook’s memory.

    Quite right.
    Won’t stop the righteous but, as someone up the thread mentioned, no matter what date, there will be objections.

    6
  34. Bar Beach Swimmer Avatar
    Bar Beach Swimmer

    Lizzie @ 2:49am
    With that intro to Margaret Cameron-Ashe’s book, I’ll buy it.

    Pogria @ 9:47pm
    According to wiki it wasn’t Bonner. Though I haven’t checked any other mp’s background, off the top of my head it probably would be Jacinta Price’s mother, Bess Price, in the NT parliament.

    2
  35. flyingduk Avatar
    flyingduk

    Every single one of the City, white skinned Abos have to have hammered home to them, publicly, the fact that they. would. not. be. here. if it hadn’t been for the white man.

    NONE of us would be here, full blood aboriginals included, without British Colonisation. That ‘butterfly wing’ irrevocably changed the course of history (as they all do) and lead to where we are today. Each little, incremental change after that point added up.

    Without British colonisation, there would be *some* aboriginals here now, but not the same ones – every single person in this country owes their very existance to it.

    12
  36. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    BBS, the one I read first is “Beating France to Botany Bay: The Race to Found Australia”, by Margaret Cameron-Ash, which summarises the way in which Cook hid his findings, then going on to detail the story of how the French got wind of something up and raced La Perouse to our eastern shores. Then Quadrant published a prequel, which I have not read yet but which Hairy says is also excellent – this has more of the detail about Cook and his various voyages, including the one mapping Australia’s eastern coastline where he fudged some vital info – it’s called, rather wonderfully, “Lying for the Admiralty”.

    Both are around $50 from Quadrant Books, details from Quadrant Magazine. These well-bound volumes are both beautifully produced on good paper in hard cover with illustrations and an illustrated dust cover. They make a very fine addition to anyone’s library of books to treasure.
    I gave them to Hairy as a Birthday and then a Christmas present. He was very pleased with them. We didn’t bring “Lying for the Admiralty” with us for me to read on this trip (though I’m keen) in order to preserve its pristine feel, for books in suitcases can get very messed up at times.

    3
  37. Crossie Avatar
    Crossie

    Where is the RSL on this?

    They are very conspicuous by their silence. It seems nothing is worth fighting for anymore except the clubs’ gambling rights.

    7
  38. Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity Avatar
    Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity

    HT says: January 26, 2023 at 8:03 pm
    I see it simply, there are 10 PH’s per annum;

    In which reactionary right-wing state run by Simon Legree do you live?
    Last year Queensland had Fifteen & a half public holidays, this year there will be Thirteen & a half.

    This is bloody murder for an employer. The Six & a half days of public holiday over the Christmas/New Year week is so expensive & so open to staff rorting, that preventing people from gaming this is one of the middling-ranked management headaches of the entire year.

    3
  39. HT Avatar
    HT

    Salvatore, Understaffed & Overworked Martyr to Govt Covid Stupidity says:
    January 27, 2023 at 10:17 am
    HT says: January 26, 2023 at 8:03 pm
    I see it simply, there are 10 PH’s per annum;
    In which reactionary right-wing state run by Simon Legree do you live?</blockquote

    LOL, I’ve been retired going on 11 years now. I know they have slipped more in, surprised it’s that’s many. Employers have my sincere empathy, I often comment to Mrs HT that it must be bloody hard in todays Woke, seemingly bone bloody lazy and self entitled society.

    1
  40. Hasbeen Avatar
    Hasbeen

    My son has a flag pole infront of his granny flat on my property. Sometimes he flies an Australian flag, a reflection of his 10 years of navy service, sometimes the Eureka flag.

    On the night of the 25Th we had a thunder storm which interacted with the flag hoist. In the morning the Oz flag was flying at half mast. On asking he assured this was not of his doing, but we both noted that a dumb flag pole could see the looming death of our Australia, which so many are too dumb to see.

    3
  41. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Being pregnant is about as feminine as you can get.
    Sadly, Greer couldn’t get pregnant despite trying and so may be expressing some personal grief or compensatory view of things here and that’s fine too. Of course our femininity is expressed in many other ways, but growing a baby is what our bodies do because we are women. That’s amazing, and that bump is truly beautiful for the owner and the observer. Very feminine.

  42. Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare Avatar
    Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beare

    Sorry, wrong thread for the last comment, it was mwant for the Open Forum, in response to a comment ciging G. Greer . I am on my phone which can defeat me re knowing where I am on the site, and I don’t do copy and paste in my phone. It will have to live here. Apols.

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