But, coincidentally, someone of Aboriginal heritage who has a stronger generational claim than I feels he/she has a belonging too.

However, even someone newly arrived in Australia has come just for that purpose, to belong.

Where does belonging start and end?

As a child of survivors of two Great Wars, the Spanish influenza pandemic and the Great Depression, I was brought up to feel that Australians survive according to the principle of mateship: togetherness.

I was brought up to believe that this was the “Lucky Country”; a land of hope and resourcefulness and that our strength lay in persistence toward peace.

This 26th of January, though, for the first time in my 67 years, I did not celebrate Australia day.

Patriotic and impassioned by this great land as I am, I felt we had lost something of the integrity of our value system.

I felt dishonoured by the people I had put in power to represent me for they were not listening to the outcry of the majority to change the date of a day that was causing rifts and resentment.

If, as I was bred as an Australian to believe, we live in a land of plenty, if we have a drive to survive through mateship, then we must see that “together we stand”.

The constant building of conflict without resolution is a condemnation of our nation. A nation does not exist in conflict. A nation exists in togetherness.

Should we look back with pride on the coming of a fleet of convicts to this land lead by what must have been the dregs of society?

What nation (England) would send the best of their best to be isolated and in charge of the worst of the worst.

MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

It is not our present task either to try to make feeble apologies or trite compensations to the people wronged by our ancestors.

We should not honour our broken history but throw great light on the history that has enlightened us and made us grow.

This is the moment have to achieve; to care about who we are, not who we were.

Mankind moves forward and finds enlightenment in the here and now. Let us move the date of Australia Day to a day which signifies nothing of our earth shattering past but illustrates for all the coming together for our future.

Make it a day to reveal the great nation that we want to be right now. Let us show the world that conflict can be resolved and better futures mean strength of mind and purpose to continue this resolution.

We are a nation of many.

Let us accept our colourfulness, our cultural variety.

Mother Theresa said in her inimitable and wise way: “If we have no peace it’s because we have forgotten we belong together”.

Let’s move the date and make a mate; for mateship is our guide.

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