We like to suggest that the past is in the past, but Australia day does not have a positive connection for a majority of Australians.

Instead, it is the day when Indigenous people were forced into a massacre on their own land, it was the beginning of trauma. It is invasion day.

The 26th is a day of mourning, not celebration. And I will not celebrate it because I cannot celebrate mass murder and cultural genocide.

The 26th of January is the date the first fleet arrived and claimed the land as a British territory.

It marks the stretch and brutality of colonisation. It is such an insult to celebrate that day, like it is something to be proud of, like the stolen generation and the wiping out of a whole population isn't something that will stain this country forever.

Australia is made of many people, many ethnicities and cultures, and I would expect my fellow Australians to have respect for each other, our multiculturalism, and our nation's first people.

We need an Australian day that celebrates all of us, not just white people of British descent. The day is a representation of all the underlying issues in our country surrounding racism and the long-lasting impacts of colonisation.

Change the date.

After 27 years working at The Area News the time has come for me to shut my computer down for the final time and retire.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the customers I have dealt with over the years who made my job interesting and sometimes moved me to tears.

It was pleasure to help each and every one of you. From the first day I walked through the back door of The Area News building until my last day I have seen many changes in the way the paper is produced.

Seeing the large sheets of blank paper rolling through the printing press, smelling the ink and seeing the different departments all working together to produce the paper was a world away from now doing everything on the computer.

Through the years I have met and worked with a huge amount of people, all who have now moved onto to pursue their chosen careers.

I am now looking forward to relaxing, enjoying my hobbies and taking time to "stop and smell the roses".

We would like to thank all the people who have helped us in many ways during our 30 years raising money for the visually impaired, it was an honour to help them.

I hope some day seeing will be a reality. We would like to pay tribute to two helpers we had lost along the way, the treasurer Ian Mason and Bill 'Pommie' Eastwood, their great help was sadly missed by many.

Our jams were very popular, going all over Australia and the feedback was very good, because of that we met many people some becoming good friends, our most important people we thank are the people who came to buy "goodies" from us.

We also would like to thank many more people who collected jars, donated produce, plants, fruit etc, private people, clubs, service clubs who donated money, selling raffle tickets and more.

The people who helped me at the stalls were recognised with a certification of appreciation for long service to us - people visually impaired also.

There are so many to thank, from the beginning we lost so many people who supported us in so many ways, we missed you. The people who thanked us through Facebook, how nice it was to read all those names.

Thankyou to the gentleman who organised our interview with The Area News, I hope we will still read it in paper form for many years to come. Kat Vella, thankyou for putting us at ease during the interview, you were wonderful especially, Elese, so that she could do all the talking. If you need anything that we had on the stall, give us a call we are still making the 'goodies'.

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