Several Sporting Bodies Cite Pain, Division on Australias National Day

Siblings, Nora B., 3, and Aerglo B., 5, celebrate Australia Day, a national holiday, at Bronte Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan. 26, 2026. Audrey Richardson/Getty ImagesAs Aussies braved the sun for a spot of beach cricket on Australia Day, numerous sporting organisations issued statements calling for a change of date or have called the celebration a “painful reminder” of colonialism.Australia Day commemorates the day Captain Arthur Phillip landed at Sydney Cove on Jan. 26, 1788, the start of British colonisation of the continent.