22 Patriotic Things To Do On Australia Day

Here is your definitive list of Australia Day must-dos. Any one of these makes you a thoughtful Aussie. Do all 22 and you’ll end up with an Order of Australia.

Here we go …

1. Start the day with Vegemite on damper and Weet Bix;
2. Wear eucalypt silvery-green and deep gold clothing. Make an effort with the hues. Lime-green and canary yellow just won’t cut it;
3. Fly a large Australian flag at home so your neighbours can see it. Bonus points for a huge flag flown proudly atop a permanent flagpole in your front yard;

Host an Australia Day BBQ at your place;

Decorate your entire house with dozens of miniature Blue Ensigns;

Give someone you love a bouquet of native flowers;

Sizzle all-Aussie beef steaks and burgers with a native bush tomato and mountain pepper berry rub;

Serve burgers with beetroot and an oversized Queensland pineapple ring. Bonus points for onion and a BBQ poached egg;

Make an Australian dessert like pavlova, lamingtons, Iced Vovo tart, vanilla slice or fairy bread;

Recite Mackellar’s My Country aloud before the family. Bonus points for Banjo Paterson’s The Geebung Polo Club done with rhythm and build-up;

Play a hotly-contested, raucous game of backyard cricket. Bonus points for loud, speculative appealing and protestations when turned down;

Do anything at the beach. Absolutely anything!

Tweet your unreserved appreciation and love for Australia;

Kenelm Tonkin @KenelmTonkin

I love Australia, its freedoms, its opportunities, its outdoorsmen. I love our individual flair, our explorers, our flinty pioneers & adventurers. That a mere 26 million in a mere 235 yrs have, with sweat, turned this wide, brown land into a beacon, a free & liberal home for all.

12:04 AM ∙ Jan 26, 2023

Recite the Oath of Allegiance even as a lifelong citizen;

Share with family and friends what you love about Australia;

Play Slim Dusty, Midnight Oil or Percy Grainger, as your taste dictates. Just make sure the music is Australian;

Self-consciously use old Australian dialect words. Bonus points for,

“You’re bonzer, cobber. It’s the Pom who’s gone troppo, a fair dinkum drongo. What a galah!”

Fly the flag from your car and drive around your neighbourhood;

Photograph a beautiful Australian scene and share on social media;

Sing loudly and without any hint of self-consciousness any of the following: I Am Australian, I Still Call Australia Home, Waltzing Matilda or Advance Australia Fair. Bonus points for leading a group to sing all of them with you;

Debate who is Australia’s greatest author; and

Prepare and deliver a short summary of the life and adventures of an Australian explorer.