For the past few years, more and more Australians have learnt about the brutal history behind January 26th. While it has been a public holiday since 1994 (even though it has been considered a Day of Mourning since 1938), less and less people have decided to partake in celebrating a date now synonymous with violence, genocide and colonisation, and instead use their time off work to contribute to First Nations’ causes, events and protests.

We here at frankie believe that January 26th is not a date to celebrate. If you’d like to spend this day in solidarity with First Nations Australians, we’ve jotted down some Invasion Day/Survival Day events that are happening across the country, that you can peruse down below.

KEY PROTESTS AND MARCHES

Gadigal Land/Sydney
Starting at 10am at Belmore Park, this protest will be happening within the city.

Naarm/Melbourne
This rally will kick off at 10am at the steps of Parliament House Victoria.

Meanjin/Brisbane
Beginning at Queens Gardens at 9am, this protest will be marching to Musgrave Park.

Tarndanya/Adelaide
This protest starts at 11am at Victoria Square.

Ngunnawal/Canberra
This rally begins at 9.30am over at Garema Place.

Boorloo/Perth
This event will start at 12.30pm at Forrest Place.

Nipaluna/Hobart
Starting at 11.15am, this rally takes place at 198 Elizabeth Street.

Garramilla/Darwin
This 8.30am protest will take place at Civic Park.

MUSIC, ART AND CULTURE

Sunset Cultural Ceremony, NSW
Learn about First Nations storytelling and culture at this event, where there will also be yarning circles, stalls and super-yummy food.

WugulOra Morning Ceremony, NSW
This smoking ceremony has been going on since 2003, and features First Nations dancing, language, storytelling and more.

Blak Powerhouse, NSW
Back for another year, this ripper event includes live music, film, art, dance and photography, hosted at the Powerhouse Ultimo.

Pilk Purriyn, VIC
Beginning at 5.30am, this event starts with a smoke ceremony and includes Cultural dance and song.

Our Survival Day, VIC
This Indigenous-led community event includes First Nations businesses to support, traditional dance, tasty eats and much more.

Share the Spirit, VIC
Held at the Sidney Myer Bowl, this festival is the largest and longest-running Indigenous festival in the state and features music, dance and lovely stalls to check out.

Ningla-A’Na film screening, QLD
This free event screens the 1972 documentary about the origins of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy at the State Library of Queensland.

Mourning in the Morning, SA
This smoke ceremony takes off at 7am over at Elder Park.

Birak Concert, WA
The 2024 Birak Concert is a free event that takes place from 3pm to 7.30pm, and features a steady line-up of awesome First Nations performers from WA.

If you’re interested in learning more about events taking place this January 26th across the country, we recommend checking out Antar’s stellar list as well as NITV’s list over here. To learn more about Invasion Day and the history of January 26th, take a gander at this helpful resource.