We can always count on Google to give us the answers.
The Google logo on the website’s homepage changes depending on the significance of the day, and this Australia Day, Google has chosen to honour and respect the first people of our nation.
You can read here, about why, for some people, Australia Day is not a day to celebrate.
The image depicts an Aboriginal woman sitting while children play enthusiastically behind her. The artwork, entitled “Stolen Dreamtime” was designed by Ineka Voigt, a 16-year-old student from Canberra. Ineka entered her work in a competition based on the theme, “If I could travel back in time, I would…”
Ineka’s submission held the message: “If I could travel back in time, I would reunite mother and child.”
To describe her artwork, she wrote, “A weeping mother sits in an ochre desert, dreaming of her children and a life that never was… all that remains is red sand, tears and the whispers of her stolen dreamtime.”
Reporting on the image earlier today, website New Matilda reflected, “It’s hard to imagine a more pointed political statement — reminding non-Aboriginal Australians on Australia Day of the price that other people have paid for their privilege.”
It gives a whole new meaning to “I’m feeling lucky”.
Earlier today, Facebook encouraged its users to share how they were celebrating, accompanied by an image of the Australian flag. In the past, Australia Day Google Doodles have been similarly apolitical.
But not this year.
Thank you Google, for bringing this important conversation to the world’s most popular website.
Top Comments
It's a thoughtful and moving little piece, she's quite a talented 16 year old! Nice to see some creative variations on the Australian theme of the day too
Activists have already complained to Google and asked for it to be removed.