Happy Australia Day of Contemplation

January 26 -Remembering Country, history and Coal Point’s shared past

January 26 is a day that carries very different meanings. For many it has been a day of national celebration since the public holiday was declared in 1994. For First Nations people, it is a day of mourning, recognising the ongoing impacts of colonisation. As a community it provides a time to reflect on our shared history and the stories written into the places we live.

In our community, that history is very close. The Coal Point-Toronto peninsula sits beside one of Lake Macquarie’s most significant historic sites, the former mission station and homestead of Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, established in January 1831 at Ebenezer, now known as Toronto. Today, the Toronto Hotel stands on that site.

This mission operated on Awabakal Country, home to the Awabakal people whose connection to this land and water stretches back tens of thousands of years. Central to Threlkeld’s work was his close collaboration with Biraban, a respected Awabakal leader, teacher and interpreter. With Biraban’s guidance, Threlkeld learned the Awabakal language and documented it in detail. These records are now recognised as landmarks in Aboriginal studies, preserving knowledge that might otherwise have been lost.

Biraban was not simply an assistant, but a cultural authority who bridged worlds, sharing language, law and knowledge at a time of profound upheaval for his people.

What remains today is not just a colonial story but a story of Country, of Awabakal people who never ceded their connection to land and lake, of cultural knowledge shared under pressure, and of a local landscape shaped by these encounters. We have Biraban and Threlkeld Reserves honouring this connection.

On January 26, as we walk the foreshore, the numerous shell middens tell stories of gatherings where people feasted on the bounty of the lake. Look deeper into our bushland and scar trees can still be found. Together, these quiet markers remind us that our home is part of a much older and continuing history.

Acknowledging this past is not about blame. It is about truth, respect and understanding. It is about recognising First Nations people as the first custodians of this place, and listening to their voices today.

January 26 invites us to pause, reflect, and consider how we can walk more gently on Country, with respect for the past and a shared vision for the future.

References:

• Australian Dictionary of Biography – Lancelot Edward Threlkeld
• 1938 Day of Mourning - AIATSIS