For Aboriginal elder Rita Wright, Australia Day meant marching in acknowledgement of first nations culture. For new citizen Dania Al Deik, it meant freedom that a Syrian passport no longer provides. For Paralympian Kurt Fearnley, it meant his 10th Oz Day 10K win. 
Minority groups took centre stage in Sydney's celebrations of Australian diversity and its ancient culture.
Jessica Mauboy sang the national anthem in local Aboriginal languages and English as part of the WugulOra Morning Ceremony, while in Glebe, the Yabun Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander festival reverberated with the sounds of a corroboree and hip-hop artists.
Earlier, newcomers hailing from all over the world, including Syria, Iran, France, Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan, China, Peru, South Korea, UAE and Greece, became Australian citizens outside the Overseas Passenger Terminal, against a backdrop of the aircraft carrier HMAS Adelaide, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.
While they were welcomed, another event formal event was under way as Aboriginal elder Uncle Maxwell Dulumunmun Harrison and his eight-year-old great-grandson, Kayne Bannon-Harrison, led one of seven smoking ceremonies, which for the first time were a focal point of Australia Day events.
"There's no difference between us, we drink the same water, we breathe the same air, we walk the same land. Respect your elders in and around your community and try to find out who they are and make conversation," Uncle Maxwell said. "We live in too much of this iPhone thing where we can't talk to people ... We need to talk."