8/13/2019 AUSTRALIA DAY 2014

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Mayors speech

by Cr Lambros Tapinos

Australia DayCitizenship Ceremony26 January 2014On 26 January every year all Australians come together to celebrate

Australia Day. We celebrate what is great about Australia. We celebrate

our achievements, the experiences of our nation, our diversity, our

values and our great way of life.

Like our new citizens, I call upon all citizens of Moreland to take this timeto show our commitment to the values that underpin our Australia

society.

Dorothea Mackellar wrote in her famous poem;Australia is a land of

drought and flooding rains. This wonderful Australian landscape, with its

valleys, rivers and red deserts, has over the years made this country and

transformed its people.

Australia is a country of breathtaking beauty, diversity and opportunity. It

is a land of the fair go and mateship.Australia Day allows us to pause

and celebrate the achievements, the experiences and values we share

as Australians. It is the stories and the accomplishment of the Australian

people that we celebrate today.

It is fitting that on Australia Day that we recognize and honour the first

Australians. The indigenous peoples of this land, who are the oldest

continuing cultures in the world - for 40, 000 years they lived in theDreamtime, shared stories about creation, land, people, animals, plants,

laws and customs. These stories inform all spiritual and physical aspects

of their life; these have been the first Australians and the first Australian

stories. In acknowledging the traditional owners of the land; I know that

more than just words are required; it is time for all Governments to invest

in Indigenous health and education and raise the living standards of all

Australians.

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As the first fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788 Aborigines

gathered around the Bay, waving spears and shouting warra warra, or

go away. For them life would never be the same gain nor would it be

the same for the convict settlers, who endured long voyages on prison

ships to reach this land. From convict they became free settlers,

harvested the land and set the foundations for this great nation. It is the

stories of gold rushes and droughts, the federation of the colonies,

prosperity, growth, depression, war, peace, immigration and multicultural

Australiawe celebrate today.

Australia is peopled with migrants from many cultures, who during the

past two hundred years came to our shores seeking a new life, to

escape war, poverty, famine and religious persecution.

I would like to share my story; my parents migrated to Australia from

Greece, with very little money and no knowledge of the English

language. They settled in Brunswick and worked long hours in

Morelands industrial factories to provide a better future for them and

their children and contribute to their new home. People, like my parents,

continue to arrive in Moreland, bringing their food, their dress, their

languages and their customs, and with each enhancing the richness ofour lives and community.

For many of you, today represents a milestone in your life. You each

have your own story, which has led you here; this story is now part of

our collective story, the story of Australia that will be celebrated into the

future.

I welcome you all and wish you well in your new homeland.