Tens of thousands of people gathered in Sydney on Monday in a First Nations-led gathering marking Survival Day / Invasion Day.

Since 1938, January 26 has been observed as a Day of Mourning by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations nationwide.

The date marks the beginning in earnest of the invasion, conquest and colonisation of the continent, and all that process entailed including massacres, land-theft, and the Stolen Generations.

In Sydney, a massive rally gathered to remind the nation that Australia needs a new national day; one that everyone can celebrate.

Aunty Lizzie Jarrett told the crowd she was inspired to see young people carrying the torch.

"Look at our youth up there, look at our Elders, understand that Australia had a Blak history but it also has a Blak future," she said.

Eileen Murray, sister of Eddie Murray, said Indigenous people in Australia have been "surviving a war, an undeclared war" for over two centuries.

"They have occupied our country by force, and they retain that occupation through police force... they do not represent the interests of the people, let alone your children," she said.

"The power of the people, the consciousness of the people, has to continue to uprise.

"If we want to talk solutions, the number one priority has to be our land back... we are tied to this country, we do not exist unless we are connected with our land."

Ms Murray said action for justice was motivated by love.

"We mobilise, we activate, we resist from a place of ngurrbul - in my language that means love," she said.

"Have a look and listen why we're here today. We're here to talk truth. Truth to Power, power to people. The truth might hurt, but guess what else the truth does? It heals.

"I was only eight years of age when the police took my brother away from me and my family. And we are still here, and we're going to still here, and we're going to stand and we're going to keep on fighting.

"What I want to see is a new coalition, a coalition of the oppressed, a coalition of humanity, a coalition of love and respect; A coalition that represents every single one of us... 100 years down the track, our babies, our future generations will enjoy the wealth of that coalition. We plant the seeds today, we water them and then they enjoy the fruits."

Dunghutti man Paul Silva said: "We stand here on Invasion Day to ensure that our voices are heard."

"We stand here to demand real accountability, real justice and real change for Aboriginal people. 238, years since Invasion Day," he said.

"Yet, we were here before the ships, before the guns and smoke, before the names of the lands were forced upon your throats. We are the original people, humans from the first light, from the first song lines that taught us how the sun to rise and the rivers, how to remember they came with their change disguised as law.

"They came... with violence rammed as settlements with boundaries drawn in the blood of our ancestors. They call it development. We call it destruction. They try to erase our erase our culture, climatize our survival, mock our ceremonies, while stealing our art and making profit."

Mr Silva noted Aboriginal people "were hunted... told we're less than human on land that is ours".

"That's why we stand today, resisting 238 years later, and yet we still stand on our sacred land, yes, over policed and constantly oppressed, but still unbroken with culture older than their f***ing empire, stronger than their prisons, louder than their f***ing lies," he said.

"For 238, years, they tried to erase us. They tried to bury us, but they didn't know that we were the seeds of this country. So, to the nation that celebrates invasion, that builds comfort on graves and calls it pride - f*** you. Australia, we're still here. We're still resisting, still breathing, still thriving and still rising.

"We are still here... They tried to erase us, but we are still thriving in a country that always was and always will be Aboriginal."

Warlpiri Elder Uncle Ned Hargraves said: "We are going to stand firm and fight."

Mr Hargraves from Yuendemu community has worked tirelessly for justice for Kumanjayi Walker and Kumanjayi White, and for the broader community.

"It's not only for me and my community, but for you," he said in Sydney on Monday.

"We have lost. We have suffered so much, so much...How much longer have we got to suffer?"

Jordan Hennessy noted the attempts of the NSW Government to restrict the right to protest in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.

"I send my love and condolences to the families of that terrible attack, but it's just as important that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples give the same respect and recognition," he said.

He paid tribute to the Elders and leaders who came before him.

"They fought for our people, for our lands and for us to be here today. Our ancestors live on through us, as does our sovereignty to our ancestral lands that was never ceded," Mr Hennessy said.

"I want to connect and reflect with everyone on the history of January 26 and the ongoing effects colonisation has had and continues to have on First Nations, people across this continent... but also to embrace the resilience and Black excellence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that is shown through our survival, our existence and our continued fight for freedom, justice, equality and equity."