Yahoo Finance Where to find Invasion Day rally and protest events on 26 January, and how to show your support if you can't attend
Invasion Day rallies may look slightly different this year, but organisers say the need to protest has not lessened.
Just consider the furore over Cricket Australia’s decision to remove references to “Australia Day” in its promotions.
It was immediately decried by conservative commentators and politicians, including the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, who made a clumsy comparison between the impact of colonisation on Australia’s first peoples and those who arrived with the first fleet.
Face masks are required to be worn at all events, and in some cities the organisers will be splitting protesters into smaller groups to comply with coronavirus restrictions.
Related: Invasion Day protest in Sydney set to go ahead despite coronavirus restrictions
We have listed the main Invasion Day rallies and events happening in capital cities. Participants are advised to exercise caution: we are still in a pandemic. Wear a face mask. If you are feeling unwell on the day of an event or the days leading up to it, or if you are immunocompromised or otherwise vulnerable, don’t attend. There are ways you can help from home, which we have also listed below.
Melbourne
The day will start with the dawn service, which will be held at the Kings Domain Resting Place from 5.30am on 26 January.
The event is run by the Victorian Naidoc committee with support from the City of Melbourne, which is providing hand sanitiser, portable bathrooms, and help with contact tracing in order to make the event comply with requirements for a Covid-safe plan.
The Invasion Day march will leave from the Parliament House steps in Spring Street. Start gathering from 10.30am. Face masks are mandatory. Participants have also been asked to bring hand sanitiser and use it frequently. If you have cold or flu symptoms or are otherwise required to quarantine, organisers say stay home and participate online, though social media posts and donations.
#InvasionDay
protest essential:
🖤face mask
🖤hand sanitiser
🖤water & snacks
🖤clapsticks
🖤 clothes for warm/cold day
🖤 follow lead of marshals to ensure you’re in a group of 100#AbolishAustraliaDay
Artwork by Dettie Sebastian 💛 pic.twitter.com/p7QPZCE2kL— assigned blak at birth (@Tarneen) January 20, 2021
Victoria’s public health rules limit public gatherings to up to 100 people, so participants have also been told to gather into groups of no more than 100 and to remain at least 10 metres apart from other groups. There will be marshals to help organise these groups and organisers say participants must comply with what marshals are saying on the day and with the Covid-safe plan.
To support the organisers go to Pay The Rent.
Canberra
There will be a march to federal Parliament House starting at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy at 10am.
The Canberra Survival Day march that was due to be held at Garema Place has been cancelled with organisers citing the effects of Covid.
Sydney
A vigil will be held at Barangaroo Reserve from dusk on 25 January to dawn on 26 January, and people are invited to keep vigil to reflect on the impact of colonisation. It’s a family-friendly event hosted by the Sydney festival and includes a performance from singer-songwriter Emma Donovan at 9pm. There will also be a short work bringing together about 60 men from different generations to “reclaim” culture that empowers Aboriginal men.
Coronavirus restrictions mean everyone must register their attendance in advance. There’s currently a waitlist.
The WugulOra smoking ceremony will be held at Barangaroo at 7.30am on 26 January and be livestreamed on the ABC. It includes the singing of the Australian anthem in both English and Eora.
Sadly the Yabun festival will be closed to visitors this year due to Covid-19 restrictions but can be streamed online here. The only tickets to the event will be given away on Koori Radio 93.7FM.
Related: A Buŋgul, a procession, an overnight vigil: Sydney finds new rituals to mark day of mourning
The Invasion Day rally kicks off at 9am in the Domain/Djarrbarrgalli and is expected to go until 1pm. Organisers have said they will go ahead despite coronavirus restrictions that cap protests in the greater Sydney area at 500 people. Those rules will not be lifted until after 26 January. More than 2,300 have indicated on Facebook they plan to attend.
As with Melbourne: wear a face mask and use hand sanitiser, don’t attend the rally if you feel unwell, and listen to what organisers tell you on the day.
If you can’t attend you can support by donating to the Justice for David Dungay Jr fund.
Brisbane
Events in Meanjin/Brisbane kick off with a flag raising in Musgrave Park at 8am. The rally will gather in Queens Gardens, which is across the river, from 10am, and the march will depart at 11am. It is a family-friendly event, there will be food and entertainment at Musgrave Park after the march.
Organisers have declared the day a Covid-safe event and have requested people bring face masks and hand sanitiser. Anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms has been urged to stay home.
Organised by the Warriors of the Aboriginal resistance, their bank details to donate are here.
Darwin
The Larrakia land/Darwin Survival Day event will start at Civic Park at 10am with a barbecue and a welcome to country. There will then be a spoken word performance by Melanie Mununggurr and a smoking ceremony led by Aunty June Mills before the march heads through Darwin CBD at 11am.
After the march there will be more speeches and live music from the JAHquavis band.
The event is being organised by UP: Uprising of the People. You can donate to help cover traffic management costs here. You can donate to the Larrakia Nation here.
Perth
The Perth Invasion Day rally will be held in Forrest Place in Perth from 1pm.
Adelaide
Adelaide’s Survival Day march will leave Victoria Square at 11.30am and march to Parliament House and back. Participants have been told to bring face masks and hand sanitiser, and there will also be volunteers in high-visibility vests carrying additional hand sanitiser.
You can donate to the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement, the independent Aboriginal legal centre in Adelaide, here.
Hobart
The Nipaluna/Hobart Invasion Day rally will begin at the Parliament House lawns at 11.45am for a 12pm start.
A rally is also being held in Devonport in the state’s north-west, gathering on Bluff Road near the surf lifesaving club from 11.45am for a 12pm start.
Both events are organised by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.
What if I am unable to attend in person?
There will be a number of people who, for health or other reasons, are not able to attend a rally this year. You can show your support by donating to the organisers of your local rally, or to another organisation such as an Aboriginal community-controlled health organisation. You can find your local community-controlled health organisation here.
NITV will be providing live coverage throughout the day, starting with a live broadcast of the Sunrise Ceremony. If you are unable to attend but want an Indigenous perspective on the day, that is a free-to-air option.
You can also boost the events on social media, and there will be a number of livestreams. You can livestream the Yabun festival here, and GetUp will livestream the Meanjin march from its Facebook page.
And finally, one of the most powerful things you can do if you cannot attend a rally is to not take a day off. Speak to your employer about whether they would be happy for you to work the 26 January public holiday, or maybe swap it for another day.
