Thousands of Australians protested on the anniversary of British colonisation of their country on Friday, with large crowds calling for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning instead on the holiday some call "Invasion Day".The holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on January 26 1788.For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of indigenous people from their land

Thousands of Australians protested on the anniversary of British colonisation of their country on Friday, with large crowds calling for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning instead on the holiday some call "Invasion Day".The holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on January 26 1788.For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of indigenous people from their land without a treaty.Thousands of people, many of whom waved indigenous flags, demonstrated in front of the Victoria state parliament in Melbourne, calling for an official day of mourning to be declared across Australia.Large crowds in Sydney chanted, thousands of protesters rallied in Melbourne, and the second day of Australia's cricket match against the West Indies was briefly disrupted in Brisbane.