8/13/2019 AUSTRALIA DAY 2014
1/2
1
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.
8/13/2019 AUSTRALIA DAY 2014
2/2
2
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.