Australia Day 2010, Melbourne, part 1

Australia Day is a much celebrated nation-wide event celebrated annually on the 26th of January. Celebrated annually on 26 January, the day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788, the hoisting of the British flag there, and the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia. On this day, a lot of people flood the Melbourne CBD and there are heaps of entertainment options for the public in Alexandria Gardens, Docklands, etc etc..

I arrived at the scene on Swanston St while the parade participants were still busy setting up. This is the very enthusiastic Falun Gong band.

Some girls from a Buddhist group. The pink lotus flowers do look very compatible with their dresses.

Met a friend from Camera Action. He's pretty helpful. Seen here with a Sony A850 and a Zeiss 135 /1.8. Very powerful combo.

Korean drummers. The specific name for this drum is the janggu.

The costumes worn by the Thai ladies, with all their fine embroideries and gold stitching are indeed a sight to behold.

A girl from the Greek community.

I think its a wonderful tradition that the policemen here wear kilts and play bagpipes. And yes, I'm pretty sure they're wearing boxers underneath.

The star wars group makes their regular appearance at most anime events.

Its a very nice feeling to masquerade as a journalist on Australia Day. You often don't get the opportunity to photograph the army, navy and air corps this close in full uniform ! Just bring a decently sized 70-200/2.8 or even a 200 f2 to do the job ;)

At least one thing I notice here is that they don't really regulate the height of their troops, unlike China where they actually choose the officers according to a certain height !

Ah... guns. A boys' dream to hold, but not everyone wants to serve their motherland in real life.

The officer manning the Australian flag from the HMS Cerberus at full attention.

Ah... the Australian flag. If you're more jovial, you'd wear it as a bikini or tie it around your neck like a cloak. ;)

The Australian Navy band played the national anthem.

Getting ready to move out.

And yes, off we go...

...into the distance (actually Alexandria Gardens), until the next year arrives again.

Stay tuned for more images of the peoples' parade...