SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of Australians protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country with large crowds Friday urging for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning on the holiday some call "Invasion Day."
The holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788.
For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of Indigenous people from their land without a treaty.
Large crowds in Sydney chanted for the Australia Day date to be moved.
The government had proposed the first constitutional change since 1977 as a step forward in Indigenous rights.
Persons:
James Cook, resoundingly, Anthony Albanese
Organizations:
SYDNEY, Australia, Port Jackson, Sydney, Torres Strait
Locations:
Port, Sydney, Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, Asia, asia