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Australia Day a public holiday on January 26th and is Australia’s National Day. Australia Day is the official National Day of Australia. It is a national public holiday that is celebrated each year on January 26. If January 26 falls on a Saturday or Sunday, Australia Day is celebrated on the following Monday instead and you can still use the cheapest package forwarding service.

It marks the arrival of the First Fleet of British Ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales on that date in 1788, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain by Captain Arthur Phillip. In each State and Territory, when January 26th falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the date of the public holiday is moved to the following Monday, however parcel forwarding companies are still available for all your shipping needs.

Have you ever wondered about the history of Australia Day?

Captain Arthur Phillip became the first Governor of the colony of New South Wales and the fledgling colony soon began to celebrate the anniversary of their arrival. During the early nineteenth century, the anniversary was called ‘Foundation Day’ and was marked by package forwarding sporting events. In the 1820s, Horseracing was popular but by the 1830s regattas had become popular.

Fifty years after Phillip landed, Australia’s first public holiday was announced to celebrate Foundation Day 1838. The inaugural holiday became an annual event, shipping from Canada to US and has continued to be held on or around January 26th. In Sydney, January 26th was referred to as “First Landing Day”, and celebrated with anniversary dinners, and later an annual regatta on the harbour.

In 1946, the Commonwealth Government, States, and Territories agreed that there should be one national day –  ‘Australia Day’ – under one banner and on the same day. However, the Australia Day public holiday was still held on the Monday closest to January 26th, with parcel forwarding services still available. In the bi-centenary year, 1988, Australia Day was held around the nation on January 26th and shipping from Canada was still available. The highlight of the many celebrations was a re-enactment of the First Fleet’s trip which departed from Portsmouth on May 13th 1987 and arrived in Australia in early January.

It was not until 1994 that all the states and territories endorsed the celebration of Australia Day on the actual day, instead of the nearest Monday. United Australia Day celebrations have been held on January 26th or the following Monday ever since with mail forwarding companies in Canada and some other countries still open.

Australia Day consists of many formal ceremonies around the whole nation along with a variety of local fun events that everyone has the ability and option of joining in.

For those who are living in Australia and are worried about not being able to celebrate Australia Day, worry no more. With the help of a package forwarding company, you can still enjoy all the festivities of Australia Day without actually being there.