The Bicentenary of ’88: celebration & survival

It’s Australia Day, 26 January in 1988. Exactly 200 years after Captain Cook made first contact with Gadigal people in Sydney Cove. There’s a grand spectacle playing out on Sydney’s shimmering harbour as a fleet of Tall Ships advance proudly, masts high, to meet the adoring mass of people waving flags and media representatives angling for the postcard shot. Official Bicentenary events promote community cohesion and an Australia Day like no other. It is one really big party and everyone’s invited.

Just around the corner at Mrs Macquarie’s chair an unofficial gathering is taking place. 40,000 Indigenous people from all over Australia, and their supporters, march through the streets of Sydney to celebrate the survival of Indigenous culture and have arrived to watch the re-enactment of the British invasion.

This march brought issues like land rights and reconciliation back into focus and created momentum for a new Australia Day event, now known as Survival Day.

And films, like the award-winning satire, ‘Babakiueria’ aided in imagining what it would be like if things were a little different…

You can learn more about the Bicentenary year when you visit the ‘Big Events’ section of the 80s Are Back exhibition.