AUSTRALIA marked its national day today, with the usual public holiday celebrations accompanied by nationwide protests against what aboriginal rights advocates call “Invasion Day.”

A British colony was established at Sydney Cove on January 26 1788, which eventually led to Britain claiming the entire country without a treaty with its indigenous inhabitants.

In Melbourne, indigenous activist Gary Foley told thousands of protesters who had gathered at the steps of the state legislature that the greatest obstacle to a better future for the country was “Anglo-Australian racism born of fear and ignorance.”