2022 video gallery

Our nation's past began more than 65 000 years ago with the first australians the world's oldest continued culture above all australia day is an opportunity to reflect a time for inclusion and respect a time to listen learn and gain understanding of australia's first people as we continue to work towards reconciliation it is important to recognise that australia day means different things to different people.

australia in sydney begins with three important elements it begins at first light the sales of the sydney opera house will be illuminated with first nations artwork this here is the artwork from australia day 2021 for 2022 the first nations projections on the sales of the sydney opera house will be by kitchen jar artist david miller this will be unveiled at dawn on the 26th of january the projection will coincide with the australian national flag and the australian aboriginal flag raised on top of the sydney harbour bridge the dawn artwork and meaningful story flow throughout the program and will feature as part of the war galore morning ceremony and the australia day live concert

one mob is a symbolic cleansing morning ceremony an ancient custom which will take place at brangaru reserve the ceremony brings together people from different backgrounds to experience and reflect on first nations culture through storytelling dance song and remarks from the local elders speaking of the strength and resilience of first nations people

australia live at the sydney opera house will pay tribute to all australians and celebrate our australian spirit resilience and diversity

first nations culture is showcased throughout australia live with different artists bringing stories to life through music dance and a groundbreaking opening segment of truth-telling using virtual imagery everyone is invited and everyone is welcome nini nagala wong

Now ladies and gentlemen we're heading down to hixson's road reserve for the salute to australia now that's down by the southern pile under the sydney harbour bridge this ceremony is a tri-service salute from the army navy and air force from the australian defence forces to the people of new south wales and will now hand over to down at Hickson's reserve.

good morning everybody and happy australia day my name is anna choi and i am your mc for today's salute to australia ceremony here at Hickson road reserve the traditional custodians of this land are the gadigal people of the eora nation and i pay my respects to their elders past and present today we'll learn of the significance of this land in our indigenous history and we will witness the honor and spectacle of a tri-service salute plus we'll hear from some new australians as they take their citizenship pledge of commitment we are joined today by the royal australian navy band and the choir from monte san angelo mercy college with their director mrs jessica payes they will perform i am australian and the national anthem in both english and europe the indigenous sydney language the hmas adelaide was going to join us but that ship was deployed on a mission recently to help the people of tonga so the hmas parramatta is out there on the harbour in her place the hmas parramatta will commence the salute followed by a 21-gun salute by the australian army a fly passed by an f-35 lightning jet will complete our salute to australia by the australian defence force after the fly pass the jet will return and we will be treated to a handling display with commentary by the air commander australia air vice marshal vijay aerovasi it's going to be a spectacular show and i'd like to take this opportunity to say a special thank you to our network of organisations and sponsors who have worked with us to make sure that our amended 2022 program of australia day events can proceed esteemed guests we are joined by the defence force commanders here on site we welcome rear admiral mark hammond commander australian fleet major general matt pearce commander forces command and air vice marshal vijay eravassi air commander australia

we're looking at the moment for the arrival of her excellency the governor

she's expected in just a moment

i'm informed that her car is just pulling up she'll be entering from the northern side of hixon road reserve that's under the bridge for those of you who aren't good with compasses like me

there she is

military guard are getting ready

esteemed guest that's matthew doyle a murawari song man and he's holding a smoking on to cleanse the path of the governor's arrival

i'd like to announce the honourable margaret beasley governor of new south wales and patron of the australia day council of new south wales and mr dennis wilson arriving now for those of you that are able please stand and look towards the military guard they are ready for their inspection of the guard by her excellency

please be seated i now invite yvonne weldon deputy chair of the australia day council of new south wales to give the welcome to country

Good morning new South Wales Governor Margaret Beasley ao qc mr dennis wilson ladies gentlemen sisters brothers and gender fluid and gender neutral providing a welcome to country is both an honour and a privilege i stand before you on the land of aora i've grown physically on this land but in my blood and always in spirit i am radric i come from cara here in new south wales my ancestral bloodlines connect all along the lands and the waters of the clare which later became known as the Lachlan and of the Murrumbridge rivers i am the elected deputy chairperson of the Metropolitan lake laboratory land council who are the culture authority under the aboriginal land rights act for the land we are on.

i would like to pay my respects to all elders past and present to our first nation and to each and every one of you that's here today we are gathered on the land of the first nations with our boundaries determined by the natural landscapes of the earth there are nations boundaries are the Hawkesbury river in the north the nepean in the west and the George's river in the south on behalf of the metropolitan local aboriginal land council the elders and the members i welcome everyone to the land of the Gadigal i acknowledge gadigal people his spirits and ancestors will always remain with this land our mother earth my people have been a part of this land for more than 65 000 years we are the oldest living culture of the world and we will continue to maintain the land our culture our practices and our traditions for another sixty five thousand years at least to acknowledge my people's survival and also the challenges we are faced with could you all please pause for a moment to remember the many that have gone before us the ones walking beside us and others soon to be following in our footsteps sharing what we have and caring for each other is my people's way of life our family and our friends are our community it is a practice we have continued that has flowed on from one generation to the next and the greatest gift you can ever give someone is your time all of us need to continue to make a difference to give and to also receive working together and not in isolation and we can create a true healing so let's look back on a legacy we are proud of all of us can bring positive changes now and into the future to make that future possible let us all draw upon our people's spirits as we continue on our journey may my people spirits walk with you and guide you as we strive forward for us all again on behalf of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council nagala wangal mari bajari gadigal nada welcome to gadigal this always was and always will be aboriginal and thank you and have a wonderful day

thank you yvonne clarence slockey will now share with us the wonderful story of patra gang and lieutenant william dawes and also share with us the significance of this land on which we are gathered clarence

thank you anna thank you yvonne governor everybody jinguriwala

in my language banjalang good wishes good health to all of my brothers and sisters here today now this year 2022 is the first year of the decade of the unesco decade of indigenous languages and 233 years ago on the hill just up here the colonial gun battery fired the first anniversary salute across the harbour and the local aboriginal people were still practicing their culture still speaking their language and trying to make sense of what was going on so you know we highlight by people and places all over this country people the places all have names of indigenous languages and their connection to nature and that is what the indigenous decade of languages is all about now where we're gathered here today this is referred to as hixon road park doors point even slaughterhouse point but the local people eora the people of this place they refer to it as dara and dara is the word or the local language word for the cabbage tree palm live estonia australis data the place it's easy to work out because the cabbage tree palms are growing here and we think about all these other places what on sydney cove saltwater tobagali now benalong point a place of white where the white ochre was being able to take out for its ceremony and if you go up the river or if you look at the boat just behind me

very easy to remember these things now we know so much about the aboriginal language of this place through two extraordinary people and lieutenant william dawes and take a bit of time to look at william doors diaries it's a really beautiful insight this amazing document that at the time i'm sure they didn't really think about it but where we are here they might have spent time on the shore exchanging language exchanging culture and a mutual respect and curiosity that lives on and gives us this amazing document of those early days of what is now modern australia i suppose now wesley enoch he also talks about batagarang and in the local language it's the eastern grey kangaroo and the point of course is named after william dawes but wesley said which in the local language is warming one's hands by the fire and then warming somebody else's hands with the warmth of your hands and as we said the idea of how we connect with each other and give each other warmth is a beautiful thing so didgeriga thank you

thank you clarence patagarang must have been a remarkable woman and courageous as well as she said shared her culture and language with doors and i imagine very patient i also love that image of warming your hands by the fire because it feels like a fitting analogy for culture it's living and it's to be shared i now invite her excellency the honorable margaret beasley governor of new south wales to offer her address please make her welcome

of the radical people the traditional owners of the land on which we are here we gather i pay my respects to you yvonne for your welcome to country to clarence for that wonderful introduction to language to gather elders past present and emerging and to all aboriginal and torres strait islander peoples who are joining us here along the sydney fall sydney harbour foreshore and online

australia is an extraordinary country

some people will tell us timing timing is everything

it's an extraordinary country it's a land of unique ancient living culture a land whose beauty sometimes green and lush sometimes ochre greets us every day a land whose waters surround it and run through we're it land of storytelling commencing more than 65 000 years ago with the timeless narratives of the dreaming storytelling which continues today old stories newly shared and news stories joining with the old and it's our shared stories that make a narrative of one country and embracing that narrative we must do so honestly it's only through the lens of honesty that we can fully celebrate what is wonderful about australia and there is much to celebrate but it's through the lens of honesty that we also recognize what needs to be done and why that is so there are people whose relationship with the land is defining as the original custodians have always understood and as i think of that relationship i reflect on the 2019-2020 bushfires and i remember an honor those who gave their all to the bushfire effort and to those who are still suffering its impacts and on this australia day i know our thoughts are with our health and our frontline workers who continue to work selflessly to keep our community safe as we now enter the third year of the pandemic and one cannot say a big enough or a loud enough thank you to each of you a thank you which i know will echo around the country as loudly as the 21 gun salute which will be held shortly and so across the country today we recognize everything that we have achieved as a nation and in that nation we all have a role to play in making it even better our shared experiences across diverse backgrounds are the strength of our community they bring understanding compassion and empathy and these are the qualities which i see reflected in the people and in the organizations that i encounter every day in my role as governor today across australia we add strength as we welcome new citizens here at doris point we are welcoming 25 new citizens from 19 different national backgrounds all with their own unique stories in becoming an australian citizen each has a share in our future success as a nation and each has embraced the values of equality before the law and respect for the freedom and the dignity of others our new citizens will make their contribution to australian society in a spirit of tolerance compassion and inclusion and i warmly congratulate each of you for taking that final step in your journey to become australian citizens and all of us all of us as citizens contribute to australia's rich tapestry of wisdom sacrifice experience generosity and good humor every contribution is important from bringing friends to keep in touch to thanking the store cashier who stands for long hours to serve us to sailing to tonga as part of australia's relief efforts as members of our defence forces are doing at the moment and are actually also encountering their own problems with covert on the ship so to everyone here on the foreshores of sydney harbour to everyone across australia enjoy this australia day where we celebrate and honor our frontline workers and each and every one of you of us as good citizens of our country

freeman out well we are from iran when we were kids we got inspired watching kathy freeman wins the gold in sydney olympic on tv that's the moment we fell in love with australia kathy lifting goes up the graham we thought that it would be a dream come true if we lived there one day and here we are today living in sydney olympic park what a legend what a champion that's how we are we've been obsessed with olympic games

very good i came from venezuela about 23 years ago i'm a botanist and i really love how curious aussie kids are about the environment and the natural world around them this is beautiful this is one of the things that i love from australia i'm originally from a small town near barry in southern italy and i speak italian to my children because i want to keep that strong connection to my culture but at the same time i want to embrace the aussie life i'm from the states originally now i'm the program director at the fred hollows foundation my first visit to australia was actually for the interview from the moment that i came to australia i was welcomed everyone is valued because of who they are that's the beauty and that's what i love being in australia it's such a multi-cultural community we love the very fabric of the society that we live in one of the things that i really love from australia is the unique biodiversity and my business partner dr fiona benjamin and i started a young naturalist what can you see to teach the next generation about australian beautiful and unique biodiversity and how to nurture and preserve our country's unique habitats the thing that i like the most is definitely lifestyle because it's very relaxed and is the fact that i feel safe and happy raising my children which is very important being a mother i think i'm most excited about the opportunities it'll open up for our girls um yeah because they'll be able to go to school here to live here to make a life here australia is the perfect country to raise a family i'm grateful for the peace that we have in australia and i know that it was hard to settle this peaceful environment for everyone in australia and i think that's the thing that we are going to value the most we are excited that now we are officially becoming part of australian community i want to become an australian citizen because i want to be i want to vote i want to have my say here i want to look after the democracy we had our first child in germany but our second child was lucky enough to be born in australia and she's the only australian citizen in our family so far and now we're all keen to join the aussie clan from this time forward i pledge my loyalty to australia and its people whose democratic belief i share whose rights and liberties i respect and whose laws i will uphold and obey

thank you your excellency for your address and thank you also to the royal australian navy band and the choir from monty saint angelo mercy college for that moving performance that song just it always resonates on australia day okay we are moving towards the official salute to australia shortly i'll invite you to stand for the salute and you will hear the hma as parramatta come to attention with a procedure alpha you will then hear the 21 guns of the australian army being fired from north sydney followed by the australian national anthem sung in both the english and eora there they go ladies and gentlemen please be upstanding and face north for the salute to australia

on behalf of the very very esteemed guests before our f-35 lightning jet returns for its handling display you may take your seats and please welcome to the stage air commander australia air vice marshal vijay eravassi to provide that commentary

air commander i'm um i didn't i get points for military precision that jet was very much on time that's good because he gets to keep his job now so this aircraft has been flown today by uh flight senator ross bowman ross joined the air force in 2005 originally joined as an aircraft technician but he converted on to becoming a pilot in 2010 got selected to fly fast jets converted onto the f-18 and in fact was deployed on operations with our f-18 units in iraq between 2014 and 2018. after his operational deployments he returned to australia uh subsequently converted onto the f-35 and he is today our inaugural f-35 display pilot right so he's the only pilot who can fly the f-35 at the moment the only pilot who can do display flying on the f-35 in the royal australian air force right now wow okay and how different are they are they the f-18 to the f-35 are they very different machine definitely so the technology uh the f-18 was basically designed in the 1970s this aircraft has been designed in the 2000s its capabilities aerodynamically match what the f-18 has been able to do

so you can see it has excellent slow speed handling capabilities but in terms of its systems integration its ability to fuse information and be like a central hub uh within the battle space uh is extraordinary and exceeds anything we can do on the f-18 so in the cockpit there he's he's pulling major g's but also he's got all this information coming at him from the machine no that's exactly right the difference between this and the f-18 is that he comes past

now within the cockpit itself there's just one single display it's like a giant ipad and so uh selection of uh weapons selections of sensors are all done by touch equally and a lot of you might have cars right now with cameras around them to help you to park same in the f-35 there's a system where you can basically look through the aircraft through your feet and to the ground it's extraordinary the technology that's been incorporated does it make the beep beep beep noise when you're going backwards we don't go backwards it's a bit like kangaroos they only go forwards too exactly right we're kangaroos and emus army forward only ford so um what are we about to see next he's coming back round again we're going to get more of the noise and the upside down that's a great way of putting it lots of noise and lots of upside down what's the proper name so um what ross will be demonstrating now a couple of slow speed handling passes there will be a pass coming down the harbour where the bombay doors will be open so you'll get an inspection to see what it looks internally unlike the f-18 the weapons on the f-35 are carried internally vice externally which adds to its stealth capabilities okay and the going slow what's like that's that's slow for a plane

what a spectacular salute to australia for those of you watching online and around the bay we leave you here from gadigal land i'm anna choi happy australia day

a working-class man ladies and gentlemen how was that the salute to australia that was incredible can we have a round of applause for our f-35

i don't know about you but that just blew my socks clean off now in the middle of the bay in the middle of the key ladies and gentlemen boys and girls dudes and dudettes guys gals and non-binary pals get ready it's time for maritime mayhem

first up as we have them coming into the key we have engaged towage with their two tugs sl martinique and sl dimontina

as i say first up we have engaged towards with their two tugs s.l martinique and sl dimontina they may look small but these two vessels are mighty mighty powerful and soon we're gonna have some beautiful music to accompany their spectacular dance

now the music is spinning around and we all love our kylie but today martinique is our pop princess sparkly hot pants and all how did they get hot pants on a boat well they tug them on okay no so they don't actually have hot pants just use your imagination but she's definitely our pop princess look at her go at 500 tons sl martinique is equipped with twin water cannons for firefighting they have a capability of moving 1200 cubic meters of water per hour that is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool in under a minute she is 28 meters in length and 10 meters wide hey give us a toot if you can martinique

thank you now i tell you what ladies and gentlemen that is some locomotion oh and look at the spray whoops she did it again and will she keep doing another spin i don't know but i reckon we should be so lucky lucky lucky lucky look i'm sorry i'm sorry for all of these kylie jokes turns out i just can't get them out of my head

as you may notice there is a bit of wind today so if you get a little bit of the spray just consider that you've had your second shower for today maybe you needed it maybe you didn't

i know you're feeling me

now over here on the north side we have sl diamontina now with a lame like daimontini you may think she's lovely ladylike but oh no at 800 tons daimontina is the largest and most powerful tugboat in sydney she has a combined engine power of 5 000 horsepower she's 32 meters long and 12 meters wide she is also equipped with fire fighting capability and is actually designed to enter a fire with her external water curtain she is badass why is she staying out in the middle i hear you ask well turns out she likes to avoid peer pressure

yes the jokes get worse i promise i mean especially when we're listening to rock and roll like this actually what do you call a cat that listens to too much rock and roll a def leopard

i know that she's a tug but i think diane mantino gets really young do you think maybe she uses botox

turns up she has to be tied up overnight thing is she likes to dock and roll

each tug is run by a three-person crew consisting of a master engineer and a deckhand a special plasma liner

you

Australia to me is a rich history a very strong embedded culture and a country that has lived and breathed the dream time and music.

The music and arts industry to me is passion it's fire it's excitement it's performance it's evolving and changing and learning something new it's everything to me it's it's heartbreak it's excitement it's sadness it's happiness it's all of these emotions my advice for anyone that wants to get into the arts and all the music or anything in life this is a blanket answer give it a go explore ask questions you know annoy people to the point where they're like what would you like me to do the one thing i love about our industry is it's inclusive and people want to teach you things get that fire in your belly and if it doesn't work out just keep trying.

Australia to me is ancient you know it's a really really old place and my people have been here since the first sunrise juraba wagara jiriba is two and wago is crows we deliver cultural programs from sydney to eden tourism for me i think it's really really special because i'm able to share stuff that i've learned along my journey and share this beautiful place here we share with everyone because we want people to to see what we see when we're in the bush looking through the cultural lens so you see what i see in turn you can take care of the earth like i've been taught and that's what it's about it's about that transfer of knowledge and sharing the first couple of walks that i ran i saw how connected people became i just lit a fire with inside me and knowing that i need to do this you know i knew straight away because i saw people get that emotional connection and that's what that's what it's about having an emotional connection to the bush.

Australia to me is sharing through times of hardship but also times of greatness i like to think i connect with my audience both here in australia and overseas through just reflecting you know where i come from and that sound of the pure language of my instrument you know i want to take people on a journey the did you do to me is one element of the spiritual legacy of our people of australia what i've been gratefully a part of you know this legacy of the did you do this quintessential australian sound with the blending of the symphonic orchestra is such a important interpretation of modern day australia because it intertwines our cultural identity as a nation as humanity as australians it's heart and multiculturalism and the spirit of this land.

Australia to me is a work in progress with incredible potential.

The goal of bus stop since the beginning has been to change the industry to make it an industry that is open to inclusion that is open to hiring people with disability on set in production offices and in post-production that is embracing of authentic casting and actually casting people with disability and the roles of characters with disability and even going a step further and just casting a person with disability in a role that's the ultimate goal slowly but surely i think we're getting there the film industry should be the most inclusive industry because it's the industry of storytelling everybody has the right to share their stories and be involved and it shouldn't be gate kept as we see diverse stories represented we do see more and more social justice being achieved.

Australia to me is about having the utmost respect for each other. I enjoy what i do i don't really think about time i just think about what i can give back so outside my time of tape at the barber shop i also cut hair for people in need we've all got a voice and we've all got an opportunity and i think some of them have just this maybe been disregarded or have don't have that sort of time and opportunity anymore for people that i need it's my obligation really just to give myself my time my energy my resources to people like that because they'll appreciate it more the self-confidence that a haircut gives you in general is just makes or breaks your week but i think for someone to get dignity out of a haircut someone in need it just might bring them a step closer to rebuilding themselves and re-gathering themselves in their thoughts as well and i learned something from them too whatever i give them they give back to me. 

Australia to me is a place where you can be whoever you want to be.

There's nothing better than being on a stage in front of an audience for me it's what drives me and what i've always loved to do from when i was really young to now but it gives me the greatest joy to be up there and perform in front of an audience to make them laugh to make them cry and to inspire them australian drag has always been really at the forefront of what drag can be we've always done production shows we've always been comedians we've always been performers there's always been costumes and glamour and fabulousness and i think much more than anywhere else in the world we've also worked as a community and worked in groups and i think that that's what makes australian drag so special.