No-nonsense Indigenous woman says what many are thinking about Australia Day: ‘It’s a date’
A female truck driver has unleashed Australia Day critics and called on her fellow Indigenous residents to ‘celebrate being Aussie’ on January 26.
The truck driver, who lives in Beverley in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, took to TikTok to share her thoughts on the controversial holiday.
“As an Indigenous Australian, I think my five cents are justified,” she said in the video filmed in the cab of her truck.
‘Firstly, I am a proud Australian and celebrate Australia Day. And I hate other indigenous people who incite hatred and disrespect on January 26th.
‘It’s a date. It doesn’t matter if you change it to December 6, July 11 or February 29 – your c***s would still find something to bitch about!
“Why don’t you just be grateful that you’re alive, and two, that you live here in Australia? And stop using it as a cop.”
The tattooed truck driver said she was ‘extremely proud’ that both her grandfathers had fought for the country in the Second World War.
“I think it’s disrespectful to anyone, or any company, who decides they don’t want to celebrate Australia Day,” she added.
The unnamed truck driver, who is believed to live in Beverley in WA’s Wheatbelt region, took to social media last month to share her thoughts on the controversial holiday (pictured)
Last year, Woolworths and Aldi announced they would not stock Australia Day merchandise.
The move prompted opposition leader Peter Dutton to call for a boycott of both companies.
The truck driver said she too wanted the public to boycott businesses that avoid Australia Day.
“To anyone who wants to one day sow hatred and division, pull your head out of your ass, muppet,” she added.
The woman’s comments were flooded with support.
“When I was a Kid Australia Day it was as much about celebrating our Indigenous people as it was celebrating being Aussie,” said one.
“We wouldn’t be Aussies without our indigenous people. You are one hundred percent right on all counts.’
Another person who claimed to be a “colleague truckie” said they supported her views.
‘Firstly, I am a proud Australian and celebrate Australia Day. And I fucking hate other Indigenous people who stir up hatred and disrespect on January 26,” she said (Photo: Australia Day revelers in 2021)
“(I’m an) ex-soldier and of indigenous descent. Proud of you and a proud Australian,” they added.
Celebrated every year on January 26, Australia Day marks the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbor in 1788, when the first Governor of the British colony of New South Wales, Arthur Philip, hoisted the Union Jack at Sydney Cove.
But for many First Nations people it is considered “Invasion Day” or the “Day of Mourning.”
The growing polarization around the national day is perhaps best summed up by the government-owned National Australia Day Council.
“For some, Australia Day is a day to celebrate all the opportunities that life in a free, multicultural society offers,” it wrote in its 2022 annual report.
“For others, it’s an opportunity to reflect on their own citizenship and what it means to be Australian. And for many, January 26 is a day of sadness, mourning and memory of colonization.’