January 26 is a day in Australian history that is fraught with trauma, with Captain Arthur Phillip leading a small group of marines and officers to claim the land in Sydney Cove for the construction of the British colony in the name of the King in 1788.
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The protests against "celebrating" Australia Day on this day go further back than you may think.
In 1938, there was a meeting, silent march and protest representing "Aborigines of Australia," calling the day a Day of Mourning and asking for a new policy "which will raise our people to full citizen status and equality within the community" - something that didn't happen until 1962 with regards to voting rights, and 1967 with regards to inclusion in the census.
However, with the over-representation of Aboriginal citizens living in poverty, being compulsorily enrolled in the basics card and cashless debit card programs - together with incarceration and remand rates, while also facing shorter life expectancy, higher rates of infant mortality, poorer health and lack of accessibility to education and employment - the battle for equality is clearly raging on.
On January 26, 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established by four men on the lawns opposite Parliament House in Canberra as a sit-in protest, symbolic of how Aboriginal people had been made, Gary Foley's words, "aliens in our own lands".
Sixteen years later, at the Bicentenary in 1988, 40,000 Aboriginal protestors and supporters marched from Redfern Park to Hyde Park and then Sydney Harbour.
Clearly, this is not a new, "politically correct" or somehow otherwise "hipster bandwagon" issue - all of which I've heard and seen be claimed over the change the date question in conversation and on socials over recent years.
With such a long history of protest, it is easy to begin to wonder how we will ever change anything worth changing.
Agendas tied closely to corporate deals seem to run things in this country and it can feel overwhelming to stand up and give a voice to minority groups.
It is exhausting to think of the fight we have to have to gain even the tiniest amount of ground - 29 years just to be counted in the Census?
Twenty-four years to be allowed to vote? I'm dumbfounded.
In a country that celebrates people who use their platform to spout bigotry and reward them with the nation's highest honour, today, I am choosing to reflect on and celebrate some of our Aboriginal heroes.
David Unaipon (1872-1967): a Ngarrindjeri man, preacher, inventor and writer, known for his book Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines and many inventions including a helicopter design based on the boomerang principle and an improved hand-tool for sheep shearing.
Neville Bonner (1971-83): a Jagera man, Bonner was Australia's first Aboriginal politician. He became a senator for Queensland in 1971, focused on improving the conditions of his fellow Aboriginal people and his legacy is characterised by his commitment to changing Aboriginal Rights in Australia.
Bronwyn Bancroft (1958-): a Bundjalung woman and artist, one of the first Australian fashion designers invited to show her work in Paris. Bancroft's artwork hangs in the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of NSW and the Art Gallery of Western Australia, as well as having provided the art for over 20 children's books.
Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1951-): a Wiradjuri woman, Australian former world no. 1 tennis player, who was inducted into the Order of Australia and as a Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Lowitja O'Donoghue (1932-): a Yankunytjatjara woman and public administrator who became the director of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and was the first woman inducted into the new Order of Australia. O'Donoghue launched the Lowitja Institute in 2015 - Australia's Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.
There are many, many more that belong in this list, from Professor Mick Dodson to Cathy Freeman, Mandawuy Yunupingu to Anita Heiss.
But alas, I am restricted by word count. However, we can take solace in the knowledge that while change may be slow (frustratingly so), it can happen with the persistence, fortitude and dedication of good people.
The more we come together, the more we accept each other for our differences and our similarities, for the value that we all bring both individually and collectively, the greater our impact on the world will be.
Zoë Wundenberg is a careers consultant and un/employment advocate at impressability.com.au