Should the circumnavigation of Australia be marked as foundation day? Ted Egan thinks so

Bungaree, an Aboriginal man of the Sydney region, sailed with British naval officer Matthew Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia. Photograph: National Library of Australia

Legendary Australian folk singer and larger-than-life Northern Territorian Ted Egan has long been uncomfortable about the way his nation ties its foundation and identity to “Australia Day”, Anzac and federation.

Every year, especially with the nearing of 26 January – Invasion Day or Australia Day, depending on your view – the divisive debate heats up over whether the beginning of dispossession and genocide of First Nations peoples is the appropriate day to celebrate nationhood.