More than 100,000 people took part in Invasion Day rallies last year and the number and size of events are growing annually

This article is more than 7 months old

This article is more than 7 months old

More than 100,000 people joined Invasion Day marches on 26 January 2019.

The number and size of events are growing annually as campaigns to change the date of Australia Day from 26 January, or abolish it altogether, continue to gather momentum.

Here are some of the bigger Invasion Day rallies and Survival Day events taking place this weekend.

Melbourne

A dawn service will be held from 5.30am at the Kings Domain Resting Place on Lithgow Lawn, in the Kings Domain. The service is to commemorate the First Nations people killed in the frontier wars and in massacres.

The Invasion Day rally begins at 11am outside Parliament House on Spring Street in Melbourne/Naarm. The theme this year is “pay the rent”, and organisations will be taking cash donations towards a fund to help First Nations families pay for funeral costs.

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The rally has had sound issues in previous years – police stopped the sound truck from getting through in 2019 – so speeches will be broadcast through community radio station 3CR and protesters are encouraged to bring their portable bluetooth speakers along and amplify the sound as they march.

After the rally is the Balit Narrun: Share the Spirit festival in Treasury Gardens. The free, family-friendly festival runs from 1pm-5pm and features performances by Indigenous musicians. There are also stalls and food trucks.

Ballarat

The Koorie Engagement Action Group is holding a dawn ceremony for Survival Day at View Point on Lake Wendouree at 5.30am. The ceremony is to commemorate those who died in the frontier wars or killed in massacres across Australia. Everyone is welcome but there is limited seating.

Sydney

The Invasion Day rally begins at 11am in Hyde Park, meeting at the corner of Elizabeth and Liverpool streets. There will be speeches from people who lost loved ones to deaths in custody, as well as speakers from Borroloola in the Northern Territory. Organisers Fire (Fighting In Resistance Equally) is aiming to beat the record numbers of 50,000 to 60,000 protesters in 2019.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Protesters at an Invasion Day rally in Sydney last year. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Sydney also hosts the Yabun festival, the largest one day gathering in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Australia. It’s held on Gadigal country at Victoria Park and is a free event featuring live music, panel discussions and forums on Aboriginal issues, children’s activities, traditional performances and a market. The festival runs from 11am to 7pm

Penrith

Archie Roach is headlining the Cooee festival, a drug and alcohol free Survival Day event hosted by Link-Up Aboriginal Corporation at Regatta Park in Emu Plains. It starts at 4pm and runs until 9pm. Entry is free.

Newcastle

Meet at 11am in Civic Park in Awabakal/Newcastle for the Invasion Day rally, a peaceful protest and march with the theme “still here, still strong, still sovereign”. The event is expected to run until 1pm.

Bermagui

The south coast town of Bermagui is holding a Survival Day event at Dickson Oval from 1pm to 5pm. Organisers confirmed on Friday that the event had not been cancelled due to bushfires.

One of the speakers includes an expert on cultural burning projects. There will also be music, food and a jumping castle. It’s a family-friendly event to celebrate the survival of First Nations culture.

Canberra

The Survival Day March begins at 11am, for an 11.30am start, at Veterans park. It will march over Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and finish on Parliament House lawns at 12.30pm. It’s organised by the United Ngunnawal Youth Council. Protesters are asked to “bring deadly banners and water”.

Perth

The Invasion Day rally begins at 12pm in Forrest Place in Perth/Boorloo.

Fremantle

The long-running One Day event in Fremantle will be held on Saturday 25 January, starting with a smoking ceremony at 8am. There will be family activities and entertainment during the day, before live entertainment from 4pm and a sunset ceremony at 8pm.

Adelaide

The Survival Day event in Adelaide/Kaurna country begins at 1pm at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, at 253 Grenfell Street. There will be a welcome and a greeting to country by Karl Winda Telfer, before a series of music and dance performances. It runs until 6pm.

Hobart

The Invasion Day rally begins at 11am at the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in Hobart/Nipaluna. Speakers include the speaker of the Tasmanian parliament and Liberal MP, Sue Hickey, Hobart mayor Anna Reynolds, former Greens leader Bob Brown, and playwright and Aboriginal elder puralia meenamatta.

Devonport

The Invasion Day event begins at 11.45am at Devonport Bluff.

Darwin

There will be an event on Larrakia land from 11.30pm to 2.30pm, featuring dancing, speeches, a barbecue and spray painting of a message board.

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All members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and the non-Indigenous community, are invited to “come together in support of history and truth telling in Australia, on and about this day”.

Brisbane

The Invasion Day rally begins at 10am in Queens Gardens in Brisbane/Meanjin and is organised by Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance and the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy. This is a new location for the rally to cater for larger crowds.

Townsville

The Survival Day event begins at Perfume Gardens in Townsville at 11am. It’s a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture with arts, storytelling, dance and music. There will also be a market and food stalls.