Western Australia Day

Last updated

Western Australia Day
Also called
  • Foundation of the Colony (1833–1876)
  • Foundation Day (1877–2011)
  • WA Day
Observed byWestern Australia
TypeState holiday
SignificanceFoundation of Western Australia in 1829
DateFirst Monday in June
2024 dateJune 3  (2024-06-03)
2025 dateJune 2  (2025-06-02)
2026 dateJune 1  (2026-06-01)
2027 dateJune 7  (2027-06-07)
FrequencyAnnual
Related to Australia Day, Norfolk Island Foundation Day

Western Australia Day or simply WA Day [1] (formerly known as Foundation Day) [2] [3] is a public holiday in Western Australia (WA), celebrated on the first Monday in June each year, [4] to commemorate the founding of the Swan River Colony in 1829. Because of the date of the Western Australia Day public holiday, Western Australia does not have the King's Official Birthday public holiday in June, as do most of the other Australian states; it is held in September or October instead. [5]

A proposal to shift the date of Western Australia Day from June to the second Monday in November will be voted on by the Parliament of Western Australia by the end of 2025. [6] [7]

History

HMS Challenger, under Captain Charles Fremantle, anchored off Garden Island on 25 April 1829. On 2 May, Fremantle officially claimed for Britain the part of the continent then called New Holland that was not already "included within the territory of New South Wales" which at the time extended to 129th meridian east of Greenwich. [8] : 11–12  The merchant vessel Parmelia – with the new colony's administrator Lieutenant Governor James Stirling, [9] other officials, and civilian settlers on board – arrived on the night of 31 May and sighted the coast on 1 June.[ contradictory ] It arrived in Cockburn Sound on 2 June, [8] : 11  and finally anchored there on 6 June.[ citation needed ] The warship HMS Sulphur arrived on 8 June, carrying a British Army garrison. The Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed by Stirling on 11 June.[ contradictory ] [10] [11] [12]

Ships carrying more civilian settlers began arriving in August, and on King George IV's birthday, 12 August, the wife of the captain of Sulphur, Helena Dance, standing in for James Stirling's wife Ellen Stirling, cut down a tree to mark the founding of Perth. [10]

In 1832, Stirling decided that an annual celebration was needed to unite the colony's inhabitants, including settlers and Aboriginal Australians and "masters and servants".[ This quote needs a citation ] He decided that the commemoration would be held on 1 June each year (or if a Sunday, on the following Monday), the date originally planned by Stirling for Parmelia's arrival in recognition of the first and greatest British naval victory over the French in 1794, the "Glorious First of June". [11] [13]

The holiday was celebrated as Foundation Day up until 2011; in 2012, it was renamed Western Australia Day as part of a series of law changes recognising Aboriginal Australians as the original inhabitants of Western Australia. [3]

In November 2024, premier Roger Cook stated he was open to the idea of moving Western Australia Day to a date closer to summer, citing the more favourable climate. His comments came after the 2024 WA Day Festival was cancelled due to poor weather, with the event postponed to 24 November 2024. [14]

In 2025, a review of Western Australia's public holidays resulted in the Public and Bank Holidays Amendment Bill 2025, which proposes the addition and shifting of a number of public holidays, including moving Western Australia Day from June to the second Monday in November. The bill will be voted on in Parliament by the end of 2025; if the legislation passes the new date will not come into effect until 2028. [6] [7]

References

  1. ↑ "What is WA Day?". Celebrate WA. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "Western Australia Day (Renaming) Bill 2011". Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 King, Rhianna (2012). Foundation Day makes way for WA Day – WA Today. Published 10 April 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Public and Bank Holidays Act 1972 (PDF) (s. 5). Western Australia. 12 February 2022. p. 5. Retrieved 17 June 2024. Western Australia Day (Monday on or first Monday following the 1st June).
  5. ↑ "Public holidays in Western Australia". Government of Western Australia, Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. 3 January 2018. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Outcomes from the public holiday review". WA.gov.au. 13 September 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  7. 1 2 "WA set to get two new public holidays in 2028 in upcoming legislation". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 September 2025. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 W. M. Bartlett (1979). Western Australian Year Book (PDF). Perth: Australian Bureau of Statistics. ISSN   0083-8772. LCCN   86641587. OCLC   8261989. Wikidata   Q126683302. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  9. ↑ "Lieutenant-Governor Stirling's Instructions 30 December 1828 (UK)". Museum of Australian Democracy. 30 December 1828. Retrieved 17 June 2024. You will assume the title of Lieutenant Governor, and in that character will correspond with this department, respecting your proceedings, and the wants and prospects of the settlement you are to form.
  10. 1 2 "The story behind WA Day". Celebrate WA. Perth, WA. Archived from the original on 30 September 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  11. 1 2 Calder, Mary E. (1977). Early Swan River Colony. Adelaide, SA: Lansdowne Press. p. 22. ISBN   9780727003485.
  12. ↑ Fraser, Malcolm A. C. (1898). Western Australian Year-book for 1896–1897. Perth: The Registrar General. p. 13. ISSN   0083-8772. LCCN   86641587. OCLC   463673381. Wikidata   Q126683302 . Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "Government Notice". The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal . 27 April 1833. p. 66. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Spagnolo, Joe (24 November 2024). "Premier Roger Cook open to changing date of WA Day public holiday". Perth Now. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
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