Celebrations and protests mark polarizing Australia Day

Australians have celebrated and protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country on a day officially known as Australia Day but considered by Indigenous activists to be Invasion Day

CANBERRA, Australia -- Australians celebrated and protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country Wednesday on a day that is officially known as Australia Day but is considered by Indigenous activists Invasion Day.

Argument rages over how history should remember a fleet of 11 British ships carrying a human cargo of convicts arriving at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788.

Protesters highlight that a penal colony was built on land taken from Indigenous inhabitants without the negotiation of a treaty. The lack of any treaty with Indigenous populations puts Australia out of step with comparable countries including the United States, Canada and New Zealand.

A statue in the city of Melbourne of British naval officer James Cook, who in 1770 charted Sydney’s coast, was defaced early Wednesday with red paint. Posters said: “Abolish Australia Day.”