INTERNATIONAL: Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Jackson in New South Wales. But for many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back 50,000 years, it is "Invasion Day."

People across Australia participated in ceremonies to mark the country's national day intended to celebrate the birth of the modern Australia.

Indigenous Australians have performed in a smoking ceremony in Sydney while Prime Minister Scott Morrison honored the traditional custodians of the country during a national flag-raising and citizenship ceremony in Australia's capital, Canberra.

"We recognise Indigenous peoples right across our land - from the Torres Strait Islander people in the north, to the Palawa in Tasmania, to the Whadjuk Noongar people across the Nullarbor in Perth, and the Larrakia people in the Top End," Morrison has said.

Protests against the holiday were planned in Canberra, Sydney and many other Australian cities later in the day.