Australian model Jesinta Franklin has condemned Australia Day as a celebration of colonisation to her hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
The wife of Indigenous Sydney Swans player Buddy Franklin took to Instagram on Thursday to re-share anti-Australia Day posts.
Her first story had the words ‘Australia Day’ crossed out, with the words ‘Invasion Day’ written below instead.
Her stories continued as she shared another post saying, “The coming of one race at the expense of another. Will you learn the proper place names of the land you live on? Once you’ve done this, look into events they hold on this date/all year round. Go to them. Surround yourself in the culture.”
A graphic followed that said, ‘Australia is the only country that marks colonisation as their national day’.
Franklin has been an outspoken critic of Australia Day for many years, posting on her Instagram every year to remind her followers why January 26 is a hurtful day to celebrate the country.
While January 26 continues to mark a historically significant day commemorating the anniversary of British settlement in 1788, its meaning is becoming increasingly contested.
For a growing portion of the population the day marks the beginning of a colonial history afflicted with discrimination and dispossession of Indigenous peoples, prompting calls to change the date of the national day.