The Australian Long Weekend – why not?
Like a growing contingent of businesses and organisations across Australia, Little Rocket doesn’t celebrate on January 26. Australia was not ‘discovered’ on this day in 1788 – of course, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have been living on and caring for Country for over 65,000 years.
January 26 marks the start of dispossession, dehumanisation, massacres and genocide. This day is a time for mourning, as well as acknowledging the survival and resistance of the world’s oldest living cultures. Each year, our team opts to work on January 26, and attends the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance Invasion Day Rally in the Melbourne CBD or other Mob-led community events.
This doesn’t mean we don’t want to celebrate Australia, even though doing so has felt tougher than ever these past few years. The failed Voice to Parliament referendum showed us Australia isn’t ready to come to terms with our violent history. And the rise of anti-immigration and racist sentiment on our streets in 2025 has pushed communities even further apart.
But this country’s immense natural wonder, strong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledge systems, our broader relaxed outdoor culture and deep value of mateship, and vibrant multicultural communities, provides so much to celebrate.
“Our friends at Clothing the Gaps have posed the question on many of our minds at this time of year – if not January 26, when?”
Our friends at Clothing the Gaps have posed the question on many of our minds at this time of year – if not January 26, when? They’ve come up with a new solution, the Australian Long Weekend. The suggestion is to move ‘Australia Day’ to the second last Monday in January, so it always falls between January 18 and 24, not January 26.
This means we’d all still get to celebrate during our precious summertime. Even better, it would always be a long weekend. At Little Rocket, we’re throwing our support behind this initiative and will close our office next Monday, January 19.
When governments are inept in leading the change we want to see, we have the opportunity to make it happen ourselves. If businesses and organisations across the country take the leap and start celebrating the Australian Long Weekend, this change of date can become a precedent.
We hope you’ll join us.
About the author
Ruby Perryman,
Communications Manager
Ruby is Little Rocket’s writing and editing expert. She grew up in the remote East Kimberley and has an extensive background in the marketing and publishing industries, bringing a unique perspective to the team.
