Changing the date : Local councils, Australia Day and cultures of national commemoration

Journal article


Busbridge, Rachel. (2021). Changing the date : Local councils, Australia Day and cultures of national commemoration. Journal of Sociology. 59(2), pp. 403-420. https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833211044548
AuthorsBusbridge, Rachel
Abstract

In recent years, a small but growing number of Australian local councils have emerged as major actors in the movement to change the date of Australia Day by electing to replace or cancel local events held on 26 January. This article draws on Lyn Spillman’s analysis of the 1988 Australia Bicentenary to make sense of these developments and their implications for cultures of national commemoration in Australia. For Spillman, the Bicentenary marked a shift towards a thinner conception of national identity which was intended to increase buy-in for Australia Day but risked fostering fragmentation. Arguing that local council actions to ‘Change the Date’ can be understood within these fragmentary dynamics, the article shows how the federal politicisation of Australia Day has seen these councils present local vernacular commemorations as preferable to official ones and promote an alternative moral vision of the place of Indigenous peoples in the nation.

KeywordsAustralia day; indigenous recognition; local councils; national days; nationalism
Year2021
JournalJournal of Sociology
Journal citation59 (2), pp. 403-420
PublisherSage Publications Ltd.
ISSN1440-7833
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833211044548
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85115942358
Web address (URL)https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14407833211044548
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range403-420
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online29 Sep 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited22 Dec 2021
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https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8x3y5/changing-the-date-local-councils-australia-day-and-cultures-of-national-commemoration

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