Straya Day cover art

Straya Day

The Unofficial History of Australia's National Day

Preview
Free with 30-day trial
Prime logo New to Audible Prime Member exclusive:
2 credits with free trial
1 credit a month to use on any title to download and keep
Listen to anything from the Plus Catalogue—thousands of Audible Originals, podcasts and audiobooks
Download titles to your library and listen offline
₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Straya Day

Written by: Matt Murphy
Narrated by: Kaya Byrne
Free with 30-day trial

₹199 per month after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for ₹664.00

Buy Now for ₹664.00

About this listen

Like it or not, 26 January in Australia has become a significant day of both celebration and mourning.

Most countries, if not all, have a national day. The reasons to celebrate a national day include independence from a colonial power, the signing of a treaty, or an act by a monarch, political leader or patron saint. Australia is the only country whose national day celebrates the colonisation of an already occupied territory. Controversially, it continues to do this despite most of its citizens both acknowledging this and the devastating impact upon its original inhabitants.

So what else could we look to as we uneasily cling onto a national holiday? As it happens, some very significant, funny, tragic, curious and plain old ordinary things have also occurred on that date.

In the spirit of humour, history and humility, here are 237 other events that 26 January could instead be remembered for besides a British Governor raising a British flag on Australian soil.

©2026 Matt Murphy (P)2026 Bolinda Publishing
18th Century 19th Century 20th Century 21st Century Modern
No reviews yet