Bermagui Survival Day returns for 2023, with an event featuring free food and entertainment. Photo: Bermagui Survival Day, Facebook.
Bermagui’s Survival Day, which is growing bigger every year, is back on this month and offers a chance for people to come together so they can reflect on and learn about their history.
Now in its fifth year, the event started in 2017 with a crowd of 40, but when it was last held it drew 500.
“Survival Day is a day for us, and pretty much for everybody, to come and reflect on what’s happened in the past, to learn a bit about the past, whether it’s good or bad,” organiser Rodney ‘Murrum’ Kelly said.
“It’s about people coming together and spending that day together, where we can reflect on the past and celebrate how we are today and how far we’ve come.
“We’ve come through a lot of hard things and to still be here, it’s a reason to celebrate.”
Survival Day is marked on 26 January. Mr Kelly said Australia Day, the other major event marked on that date, was mostly a “one-culture event”.
“We don’t attend those events and we use this day as Invasion Day or Survival Day,” he said.
“[Bermagui] Survival Day is really starting to grow, new businesses and organisations want to come on and support the day.”
Everyone is welcome to this year’s event, where there will be free food, bands, a smoking ceremony, dancers and speakers.
This year, 400 children will be given school supplies thanks to donations by Khalsa Aid Australia as well as funding raised by Mr Kelly.
“This year’s Survival Day is about the kids at school, doing what I can for them,” he said.
Bermagui Survival Day will be held on 26 January from 11 am to 4 pm at Dickinson Oval, Bermagui.
It is an all-weather event, thanks to a large marquee. For more information, visit its Facebook page.
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