Australian Bicentenary revealed during the year that attendances at Bicentennial events were below expectations, claims were made that it was due to the public boycotting the events and the Bicentennial in general. Australian Bicentenary The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1988. It marked 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. The bicentennial year marked Captain Arthur Phillip's arrival with the 11 ships of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour in 1788, and the founding of the city of Sydney and the colony of New South Wales. 1988 is considered the official
Bicentenary Medal of the Royal Society of Arts years earlier, and has been awarded to a variety of individuals for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of design in industry and society. In the RSA's current account of design, that contribution is interpreted as the most effective use of design to increase the resourcefulness of people and communities. Bicentenary Medal of the Royal Society of Arts The Bicentenary Medal of the Royal Society of Arts is awarded to "a person who, in a manner other than as an industrial designer, has applied art and design in great effect as instruments of civic innovation", as long as the winner