As Australia Day approaches it draws the curtain on the holiday season for another year. With every passing year it seems more noise is made about how inappropriate or appropriate it is for us to celebrate the coming of the first fleet in 1788 as our national day.
The teaching of our history is vital for national self-understanding, for discerning the good and evil of our story, for carrying the good forward and for making peace with those disadvantaged by the past.
What is different about our story is the resolve of evangelicals in England to redeem and rehabilitate convicts bound for Australia. The British Crown and its Governor Phillip did not espouse this purpose entirely but were persuaded enough to appoint a chaplain to the penal colony and to provide some practical support.
Professor Stuart Piggin commits the Prologue of his celebrated book on Christian influence in early Australia to Lieutenant William Dawes, the astronomer appointed to the First Fleet. Dawes was a genuine Christian and a considerable moral intellect. He took a special interest in the local people and explored the indigenous language and understanding of the world. FULL STORY FROM FAMILY VOICE HERE:
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| ADVANCE AUSTRALIA ''FARE.''AUSSIE FOOD! |
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