Goya Dmytryshchak
Indigenous cultures and active citizenship will be the focus of this year’s Australia Day event in Williamstown.
The Altona Lions Club has revamped its Australia Day breakfast with a post-lockdown federal government grant to host an event for up to 400 people at Seaworks.
Altona Lions president Catherine Curtain said the club wanted to recognise and celebrate the importance of the history, traditions, and cultures of Indigenous Australians, as well as acknowledging active citizenship and achievements of outstanding residents.
“It’s important that we reflect on and learn about our nation’s journey, respect the different views about Australia Day and, collectively, have constructive conversations about our history, seeking ways to move forward together,“ she said.
Laverton couple, Wiradjuri soprano vocalist Shauntai Batzke and Miriam Torres Strait Islander poet Robbie Batzke, will be among an impressive line-up performing at the event.
Ms Batzke said Australia Day was both a day of celebration and of mourning.
“Personally, it’s an opportunity to reflect and appreciate the past and look towards our future,“ she said.
“It’s about coming together with family … my family is of many nations, so I celebrate Australia Day as we are today but I also reflect on the Indigenous experience that we had, which is a day of mourning in a sense as well.
“Mostly, I’m Indigenous, and I also have Chinese, German, Welsh, English and Maori [ethnicity].“
Mr Batzke said his parents’ marriage was one of the first unions between a German and a Torres Strait Islander.
“My father is from the old country of Germany, which he was extremely proud of,“ he said.
“He was absolutely anti-war and he, too, was just totally appalled by it although he was only four or five years of age (during World War II).
“It was one of the first marriages for a full-blooded Torres Strait Islander woman to a full-blooded European.
Mr Batzke, 54, said Australia Day had been “very, very confusing“ for him, growing up.
“I’m a self-made poet and all I talk about are these issues of growing up as a little boy at Holloways Beach, north of Cairns.“
Maribyrnong council will host a private citizenship ceremony but no public event.
The Australia Day breakfast at Williamstown is on Tuesday, January 26 from 8am-1pm.
Tickets: seaworks.com.au, bit.ly/3oMecwT or contact the Lions Club of Altona via Facebook or 0400 002 192.
