Hooraaaaayyy it is Australia Day (well nearly it is already the 26th in Oz) I am already planning how I can celebrate at work tomorrow without irritating too many of the senior management team. Liquid lunch is out of the question because I have an interview with an external auditor at 2pm that I can’t get out of. It is SOOOO unfair!
I was thinking something low key like draping my 6ft Australian flag across the window in my office and wearing my Guiness hat complete with little Guiness shaped corks or Neal’s ‘authentic’ leather stockmans hat, think the corks are winning out at the moment. Not sure that is going to be obvious enough though so any suggestions of ways I can spread the joy in the middle of the English winter at a police station are welcome!
Is anyone else celebrating??
For all those who don’t know what I am on about, a lesson in Australian History X if you will:
Australia was uninhabited before stone-culture peoples arrived perhaps by boat across the waters separating the island from the Indonesian archipelago about 40 000 years ago. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English explorers observed the island before 1770 when Captain Cook explored the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.
On January 26 1788 (now celebrated as Australia Day) the First Fleet under Capt. Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney and formal proclamation of the establishment of the Colony of New South Wales followed on February 7. Many but by no means all of the first settlers were convicts condemned for offences that today would often be thought trivial. The mid-19th century saw the beginning of government policies to emancipate convicts and assist the immigration of free persons. The discovery of gold in 1851 led to increased population wealth and trade.
The six colonies that now constitute the states of the Australian Commonwealth were established in the following order: New South Wales 1788; Tasmania 1825; Western Australia 1830; South Australia 1836; Victoria 1851; and Queensland 1859.
Federation, which occurred in 1901, brought the 6 colonies together under a common government.
The first federal Parliament was opened at Melbourne in May 1901 by the Duke of York (later King George V). In May 1927 the seat of government was transferred to Canberra a planned city designed by an American Walter Burley Griffin. The first session of Parliament in that city was opened by another Duke of York (later King George VI). Australia passed the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act on October 9 1942 which officially established Australia’s complete autonomy in both internal and external affairs. Its passage formalized a situation that had existed for years. The Australia Act (1986) eliminated the last vestiges of British legal authority. Australians still recognise Queen Elizabeth II as head of state (for the time being anyway).
WISHING ALL AUSSIES AND AUSSIE WANNABES A HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!!!
Happy Australia Day Ren, In typical oz style its stinking hot @ 36C and we are just starting to get some decent thunderstorms to cool things down a bit.
Happy Australia day Ren thankx for reminding me need to send a email to cousins down under.
You should put the flag up when its St Andrews day scots put the St Andrews flag up and the English put the St Georges Flag up so why shouldnt yuo put the Australian flag up its only fair.
Ended up with the huge flag draped across the window behind my desk and took both hats in as I could not decide. Had a few weird looks walking down the corridors with my stockmans hat on in combination with my suit, but hey, Australia day only comes around once a year! Also went for the Ned Kelly poster for a laugh, Neal knocked me up one before work and it is still hanging on my office wall (with all the other Aussie paraphernalia I have collected over the last couple of years) and got a few laughs.
I got talked into buying cakes for everyone at lunch time, and as the nearest supermarket that sells Aussie fayre is a bit of a hike from the office I ended up with totally untraditional jaffa cake mini rolls, some biscuits with marshmallow on top covered with chocolate (can’t remember what they are called) and some apple and blackcurrant pies. The senior managers practiced their rubbish aussie accents in exchange for cake which was a good laugh. Even the auditors got into the spirit, the first time all week I have seen any of them crack a smile!
Worst part of the day…the jokers who kept asking me which part of New Zealand I am from (sorry Ike but you know how it is, NEVER get an Aussie and a New Zealander mixed up, even on purpose; the accent is NOT similar and the flags are quite easily distinguishable from one another!)
Neal left for work about 6pm and so we did not get a chance to go out, oh well there is always next year! :rolleyes:
lucky i didnt have to work today 
:wasted:
