Happy Australia Day! Love, Tucson

For Australians January 26th is the equivalent of our Fourth of July. It was on this day in 1788 that the first British colonists arrived at Botany Bay where the natives were not welcoming. So the fleet of 11 ships then sailed a short ways north to Sydney Cove and disembarked. They had set sail from Britain in May of 1787. That means Australia is 238 years old today and deserving of a delicious and colorful cake.

The fact that these colonists were convicts, mostly petty criminals, whose punishment was being exiled to Australia, is rarely mentioned these days. Until the War of Independence the British government had transported these types of prisoners into exile in the North American colonies, primarily to Virginia and Maryland.

Some facts and trivia about Australia

• While Dutch explorers came and went around Australia during the 1600s, the famous explorer Captain Cook first claimed the continent for the British Crown in 1770.
• Australia’s official colors are vibrant green and yellow, the colors of an acacia tree in bloom.
• Australians have won 185 Gold Medals at the Summer and Winter Olympics. 78 were for swimming. 90% of the population can swim at least a little bit.
• January 26th is mid-summer in Australia.
• The most popular beer in Australia is Great Northern Super Crisp, a mid-strength lager.
• The most popular food is meat pie. But the Aussies also eat Vegemite, a brewer’s yeast extract, definitely an acquired taste.
• The most favorite wild animal in Australia is the Koala, of course. Everyone everywhere loves Koalas.

So why am I writing about this? As you may know, I produced a calendar for 2026. Each month has the image of a cake to celebrate a non-traditional holiday or event that most calendars ignore. For January picked Australia Day and produced several images on Adobe’s Firefly . The one at the top of this post did not make the final cut. Nor did this one below.

And here, below is the image that made it into the calendar. I now have second thoughts and would prefer either of the other two images. But what is done is done.

I’ll be back to Tucson in my next post. In the meantime you can subscribe to I Saw It In Tucson, below, and each month you will be treated to a delicious visual cake, free of charge!

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