We are definitely history ignorant.  This certainly makes it clear 
THE "FIRST" AUSTRALIA DAY:  I was taught this at primary school.
26 January, 1949– The Nationality and Citizenship Act is passed. Rather than being identified as subjects of Britain, the Act established Australian citizenship for people who met eligibility requirements.
This information was authored by Peter Lee - it should again be taught to all Australians.
'Below is the correct reason Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January.   
Here are the Facts about Australia Day but don’t expect the media to educate you with these facts as it’s not part of their agenda.
1. Australia Day does not celebrate the arrival of the first fleet or the invasion of anything.
2. Captain Cook did not arrive in Australia on the 26th January.   The landing of Captain Cook in Sydney happened on the 28thApril 1770 – not on 26th January.
3. The first fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18th January.
The 26th was chosen as Australia Day for a very different and important reason.
The 26th of January is the day Australians received their independence from British Rule.
However, Captain Cook’s landing was included in Australia Day bi-centenary celebrations of 1988 when Sydney-siders decided Captain Cook’s landing should become the focus of the Australia Day commemoration.
Sadly, the importance of this date for all Australians has begun to fade and now, a generation later, it’s all but lost.
The media as usual is happy to twist the truth for the sake of controversy.
Captain Cook didn’t land on the 26th January, so changing the date of any celebration of Captain Cook’s landing would not have any impact on Australia Day, but maybe it would clear the way for the truth about Australia Day.
Australians of today abhor what was done under British governance to the Aborigines, the Irish and many other cultures around the world.  So, after the horrors of WW11, we decided to try and fix it.  We became our own
On 26th January 1949, the Australian nationality came into existence when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was enacted.
That was the day we were first called Australians and allowed to travel with passports as Australians and NOT British subjects.
In 1949 therefore, we all became Australian citizens under the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948.
Before that special date, all people living in Australia, including  Aborigines, were called ‘British Subjects’ and forced to travel on British passports and fight in British wars.
This is why we celebrate Australia Day on the 26th January. 
This was the day Australians became free to make our own decisions about which wars we would fight and how our citizens would be treated.
It was the day we were all declared Australians.