It seems we cannot get past Australia Day now without seeing multiple claims that national celebrations on January 26th commemorate the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which came into effect on January 26, 1949.
The first time this claim was made seems to have been on social media in 2020. It does not appear anywhere in books, government documents or any other media before then, and seems simply to have been invented.
In fact, the Act was deliberately proclaimed on Australia Day. By 1949, January 26th had been celebrated in NSW for more than 100 years.
Australia Day on January 26 originated as a commemoration of the First Fleet’s arrival at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788, led by Captain Arthur Phillip.
The first official public holiday marking this date was declared in New South Wales by Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1818, for the 30th anniversary, including a gun salute and extra rations for government workers.
Celebrations remained mostly local to Sydney (as “Foundation Day” or “Anniversary Day”) until the 1930s, when all states agreed to observe January 26 as “Australia Day” in 1935, with public holidays unified nationwide by 1940.
The Nationality and Citizenship Act is worth remembering, but it is not the reason we celebrate the 26th of January as Australia Day.
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