Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against Australia Day on Saturday.

Activists marched across Australia in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who consider the country’s official national day a day of mourning.

Many Australians called for the abolition of the 26 January celebrations to highlight the dispossession of indigenous land and slaughter of the country’s natives.

Tens of thousands protested Invasion Day in Australia on Saturday (Picture: EPA)

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Ashley Salta and Phoebe Delaney marched in solidarity with indigenous people (Picture: EPA)

Australians called for the abolition of the 26 January celebrations to highlight the dispossession of indigenous land and slaughter of the countries natives (Picture: EPA)

A woman held up a ‘No pride in genocide’ sign (Picture: Getty Images)

While Australia Day marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the ‘First Fleet’ of British ships at Sydney Cove, many indigenous Australians, who trace their ancestry on the continent back 50,000 years, regard it as ‘Invasion Day’.


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Protester Eugene McGarrell said: ‘Having a celebration of Australia that doesn’t include the first nation people, I think, it’s an abomination to be honest.’



In Sydney, a rally stretched along more than half a dozen city blocks from Hyde Park to Victoria Park with about 5,000 protesters.

Many chanted ‘always was and always will be aboriginal land’ and ‘no pride in genocide’.

Sydney icon Danny Lim also took part in the march (Picture: Getty Images)

Activists called for the date to be changed (Picture: AFP)

Many indigenous groups commemorate the 26 January as the invasion of their land by Europeans (Picture: EPA)

Victorian Police officers intervened after a fight broke out between Invasion Day protesters and two far right activists (Picture: EPA)

One held up a sign reading: ‘I’m the granddaughter of my ancestors you couldn’t kill.’

Police officers intervened as brawls between protesters and far right activists broke out.

Protests attended by several thousand people took place in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities.

Australia’s 700,000 or so indigenous people track near the bottom of its 25 million citizens in almost every economic and social indicator.

Greens member of the legislative assembly Jenny Leong said: ‘The 26th of January should not be a day of celebration, it’s a day of mourning.

The day mark the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival in Port Jackson, New South Wales on 26 January 1788 (Picture: EPA)

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who consider the country’s official national day a day of mourning (Picture: Getty Images)

Traditional dancers performed during protests at Barangaroo in Sydney (Picture: Getty Images)

Around 5,000 people marched in Sydney (Picture: EPA)

‘It’s a day of recognition of the survival and the injustice done to Aboriginal people. I’m marching today on Invasion Day and going to Yabun because I want to show solidarity, because that’s what allies do.’

Protesters wanted to change the date, with Jack Patten, who also took part in the march, saying: ‘A change of the date is a massive step forward, we think ahead rather than just thinking about the now.

‘We may upset a lot of other people, but it’s the broader spectrum, it’s the future, which is the kids.’

The day, intended to celebrate the birth of modern Australia, is widely celebrated down under.

Protesters gathered on the bridge in view of the Houses of Parliament on Friday (Picture: Alamy Live News)

The event was organised to show solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who consider Australia Day a day of mourning not celebration (Picture: Alamy Live News)

Hundreds of activists also staged a protest on London’s Westminster Bridge.

London-based Aussie activist Eda Seyhan, who took part in the protest, said: ‘The fact that we commemorate, as our national holiday, the day our country was colonised is an outrage.

‘The fact that, over two centuries later, Indigenous peoples continue to face violence and discrimination at the hands of the state is a disgrace.’

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