Australia Day

American

noun

a legal holiday in Australia, the first Monday after January 25, commemorating the landing of the British in 1788.

Australia Day British

noun

a public holiday in Australia, commemorating the landing of the British in 1788: observed on the first Monday after Jan 26

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Australia Day

Australia Day - a national holiday on 26 January - marks the 1788 landing of Britain's First Fleet in Sydney Cove and the start of colonisation.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026

Crowds took to the streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and other cities on Australia Day, many with banners proclaiming: "Always was, always will be Aboriginal land".

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

In Adelaide, an Australia Day parade and light show have been cancelled due to the extreme heat forecast.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2026

Have your views of Australia Day — and how you mark the day — changed over time?

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2024

Anniversary Day: Mentioned in the text, is now known as Australia Day.

From Joe Wilson and His Mates by Lawson, Henry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023