AUSTRALIA DAZE is a kaleidoscopic, entertaining and critical portrait of a nation - a series of 'snapshot' views captured on that single day in 1988 which carried so many different symbolic meanings for Australia's citizens. Often humorous and sometimes disturbing, the film examines the way Australians see themselves 200 years after 11 British ships of the First Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour to found a colony. On Australia Day, 26 January 1988, over 20 crews filmed on locations all across the country, from the tropical north to the sandy deserts to the big cities, searching behind the curtains of the official celebrations to reveal the thoughts and attitudes of ordinary Australians. The best of their material, the funniest, the saddest, the most typical and the most revealing, has been combined with highlights of the national mass media coverage of the day's events to portray the complexities and cross-currents of Australian society in the 1980s.