We have structured the observance of time to include a public holiday on January 26 commemorating Australia Day, but our nationalistic celebrations alienate many for their divisive connotations of invasion and exclusion.

There is a symbolic coincidence on and around January 26 whose affect may be disputed or unnoticed but is well worth considering as a unifying affirmation: as the stars disappear in the dawn twilight of that date, the Southern Cross, emblem of shared experience across South Pacific populations, stands at upper transit, upright on the Southern Meridian.

What about a Dawn Service to celebrate unity in diversity? Or just getting up early and letting it sink in?