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Customs and Values AboriginesStatus of Aborigines Australian English (Strine) Poetic deception Christianity Jesus and Convicts Drinking Shouts and rounds Facts Odd facts of Australia Etiquette Important social rules Immortals Iconic battlers Tall-poppy syndrome The misunderstood icon Traditions A time to be sombre and to not Underdog Siding with the loser
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 Australian Myths - Fact or Fable? "This is a true republic, the truest, as I take it, in the world. In England, the average man feels he is inferior, in America that he is superior: In Australia he feels that he is equal. " Francis Adams - minister to Great Britain (1861-68) and son of American president John Quincy Adams. Irrespective of whether they are true or not, the type of myths that a society creates reveals an insight into its aspirations and values. In that regard, these myths are facts in themselves. In the United States, the most significant myth is that of the American Dream which proposes that anyone can achieve - irrespective of whether they an immigrant, racial minority or a person stuck in a wheel chair. Although only a minority of Americans actually see their dreams come true, the vast majority of Americans still believe in the dream, and have worked hard to make it a reality. Most notably, the myth has been evoked by activists such as Martin Luther King in campaigns to remove oppression. The influence of the American dream myth has also revealed itself in such things as American universities setting up scholarships aimed at allowing talent to rise to the surface, and national parks having wheelchair access. Unlike America, Australian myths have very little to do with realising one's ambition. Instead, myths based around mateship, egalitarianism, and a belief in a fair go aim to achieve a peaceful society where people don't feel either superior or inferior. It is unfortunate that in recent years, academics, more concerned about the tall poppy syndrome than social harmony, have taken it upon themselves to deconstruct some of the positive benefits that myths serve in the Australian community. Although the myths still prevail, as a result of the deconstructions, perhaps they are no longer as influential as what they could be.
"When our ideal of mateship is realised, the monopolists will not be able to hold the land from us." Henry Lawson "If you go out for a big night and by some misadventure you end up in a prison cell, you can count on your best friend to bail you out, but your best mate will be in there besides you." Australian saying Although people in every country have friends, arguably no nationality lionises mateship to the same degree as do Australians. An Australian's lionisation of mateship is particularly evident in the way mateship is celebrated in ANZAC Day services. Whereas most countries use their military day to affirm all that is good and just about their nation, Australians use their military day to remember the character of those who died in war. A central feature of the Anzac Day service is a paragraph taken from the poem 'Ode for the Fallen': "They
shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Along with the Ode, Australian military tradition lionises mateship with the immortalisation of John Simpson and his donkey. During the Gallipoli campaign, Simpson deserted his unit and saved hundreds of wounded men by carrying them from the battlefield to the army hospital. It was an act of self sacrifice that ultimately cost him his life. Some people have argued that, although mateship may have been part of Australia's history, it is a fable today. If it is indeed a fable then it seems that a few isolated individuals still like to conform to the fable, and that Australians love hearing news events that show the fable is still a reality. For example, in 2006 two miners were trapped 1km underground when an earthquake caused a cave in. One of the miner's mates risked his life to find out where they were, and if so, if they were still alive. For the next two weeks, the Australian public was captivated with a rescue attempt, and the feel-good sentiment of a community rallying together to save the miners.
"Australia seems refreshingly free of class prejudice. Here people take you for what you are, and are less concerned with how you speak, what job you do, where you went to school etc. I enjoy meeting people from many walks of life and treating each other as equals." Paul Davies The egalitarian ethic refers to the tendency of Australians to judge others on their basis of their substance rather than their bank account, race, breeding or title. Due to this egalitarian ethic, it is difficult to ascertain an Australian's wealth by looking at the clothes they wear or the car they drive. Such a belief is reflected in the popular saying: "If the guy next to you is swearing like a wharfie he's probably a media billionaire. Or, just conceivably, a wharfie." The egalitarian ethic is affirmed in cultural traditions such as buying the rounds at the pub where everyone, irrespective of their financial background, is expected to buy their shout. It is also affirmed in the informal nature of Australian English, which uses first names instead of titles, and slang such as "g'day mate" on important occasions. Ironically, being treated as an equal has sometimes offended foreigners. In 1980, a Japanese prefecture sponsored a weekend seminar to discuss problems that Japanese people might experience in Australia. One speaker, Hiro Mukai, stated: "Australians appear very naive to the newly-arrived Japanese. They speak the same way with everyone." As well being expressed
in pub traditions and Australian English, the egalitarian myth is reflected in
the urban design of Canberra (the national capital) and Parliament House (the
main building where politicians do stuff). Canberra was designed as a city for
the people, not elites. To make the myth a reality, all of Canberra's hill tops
and water frontage were reserved for public use. Likewise, Parliament
House has wide lawn arches rising over itself in order to allow the people to
climb on top of their government, thus symbolising their power over it. Rosey Golds, a social commentator for ABC radio, touched on the origins of the egalitarian ethic/tall poppy syndrome when she said: "The tall poppy syndrome expressed our great reluctance to defer to authority figures (and thus establish a new class system) and our abhorrence towards a society predicated on the worship of money. We mocked the desire to impress. There was a great Australian proverb used to describe the wealthy graziers who came down from the country on holiday breaks flaunting their Akubras - the wider the brim the smaller the property "
"Well, I came away because I believe in a fair go and I wanted to be with my mates; because I like being able to say to a copper, 'That's all right, copper, you got nothin' on me;' because I want to say what I like when we're having a beer at the pub; because I want to do what I like with the few quid I've got in the bank; and because women and kids are being bombed in London and shot in Prague, and someday this might happen at home if we don't do something about it." Chester Wilmont Tobruk 1942 The fair go myth is one of the most unusual of Australian character traits. It encourages Australians to support the underdog over any oppressor - even when they have no actual like of the social group the underdog is from. For example, in Palestine during the second World War, Australian soldiers became annoyed by Arab husbands riding a donkey while his wife and children trailed behind carrying the family chattels. To make a point, the Diggers would drag the Arab off the donkey, and replace him with the wife. A similar support for the underdog was seen in the "Battle of Brisbane" between Australian soldiers and American Military Police. Although the Australian soldiers had developed a strong dislike of all Americans, the dislike of the American was superseded by a stronger dislike of authority. This became evident when a couple of Diggers saw an American MP bashing a drunken US soldier with a baton. The Diggers came to the aid of the US soldier, and more American MPs came to the aid of the American MP. A huge brawl followed which culminated in an American MP shooting one of the Diggers. The Australians' support for the underdog can make them appear to be racist. Most cultures around the world are structured around a ruling class and a subservient under class. When Australians attack these power hierarchies, they are attacking the very basis upon which these cultures are based. On the positive side, it is a form of cultural rather than racial discrimination. When the culture changes, the oppressor may be welcomed with open arms. This was seen when Australians volunteered to stop Italians, Japanese and Germans in World War II. It was also seen when Australians allowed Italians, Japanese, and Germans to migrate to Australia after World War II, and give them the chance to prove themselves. The Eureka Stockade flag is the most widely known symbol of a fair go. It was initially raised by miners in 1853, and subsequently associated with an oath to stand by one another to protect rights and liberties. This was put into practice when the Eureka Stockade flag became associated with unionism - as workers bound together to protect one another from exploitation. The view from academia Many academics have been intent on proving the falsity of Australian myths. But even if the myths were false, funding their research is about as useful as funding geologists to prove that Australia wasn't really made by a rainbow serpent. While it may be a fact that Australia was not created by a rainbow serpent, it is a fact that for a long time a lot of human's believed it was, and this belief shaped their thinking in a positive way. Despite the dubious value in deconstructing Australia's myths, it is understandable that Australia's academics look upon their acclaimed American counterparts with envy, and so become critical of the Australian myths that deny them the same kind of national celebration. From the academic point of view, the lack of celebration for tall poppies has resulted in Australia being a country without heroes, and this is a bad thing because they want to be heroes. However, although academics do indeed suffer under egalitarianism, arguably, the whole of Australian society benefits from it. As the old saying goes: "Envy the society with heroes. Pity the society that needs them." Despite producing surveys, statistical figures, and writing countless papers questioning the validity of Australian myths, the myths still endure and are still shaping the Australian character. Australians are still expressing their egalitarian sentiments when buying their rounds in the pub. Australians are still lionising mateship every ANZAC Day. If the academics thought about social engineering in a pragmatic fashion, then the endurance of the myths really should not come as any surprise. To deconstruct the myths would take more than writing a few papers. It would also require the deconstruction of all of Australia's traditions, history, and language. Ironically, instead of eliminating the myths, the academic's attempts at deconstruction have eliminated themselves from gaining the benefits of the myths. Their negativity has put them offside from the majority of the Australian population, so that most Australians see academics as inferior rather than equal to them. Furthermore, most Australians do not give academics a fair go, and few academics would ever have someone refer to them as "mate." A vicious cycle is thus created as academics remain steadfast in their motivation to deconstruct myths that in their world, simply do not exist. Unfortunately for the academics, they find themselves in no-mans land trapped between two cultures. They look upon America with envy, but they are trapped in the alienation of their own country. This alienation manifests itself with feelings of persecution. Complaints about "anti-intellectualism" and the "tall-poppy syndrome" are staple fares of the academic world. Not surprisingly, feelings of victimisation lead to the same kind of hostility seen when British Islamists planted bombs on the London underground - except rather than use bombs, academics use deconstructive words. Ironically, the two group's joint sense of alienation has had academics very keen to foster the sense of victimisation in ethnic groups to subliment their own feelings of persecution.
The 1993 Australian Education Union's curriculum policy stipulated that children must be taught that they "are living in a multicultural and class-based society that is diverse and characterised by inequality and social conflict". The 1999 Australian Education Union policy on combating racism argues that government polices "are founded upon a legal system which is inherently racist in so much as its prime purpose is to serve the needs of the dominant Anglo-Australian culture". The Queensland Education curriculum aims to "deconstruct dominant views of society" on the basis that the Australian community is infected with "privilege and marginalisation".
In 2002, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article by two historians, Robin Prior and Trevor Wilson, in which they offered a "corrective to 10 myths about the ANZAC campaign." After deconstructing the myth that Australians admired their Turkish enemy, the article also moralised that the Gallipoli myth: "excludes more than half the population: women, indigenous people and most ethnic groups." The article concluded by compelling Australians to be mature enough to recognise that Gallipoli was a battle fought in vain.
Amongst Australia's intellectuals, scorn is reserved for "apologists for unqualified mateship." Such intellectuals are full of praise for other academics who deconstruct the mateship myth. Richard Waterhouse, from Sydney University, has been praised for his deconstructive work. Waterhouse took aim at the fabled hospitality of pioneer farmers. According to Waterhourse, the hospitality was nothing but a defence mechanism to stop transients burning down their fences. Likewise, Jessica Stewart, another intellectual, also had some problems with friendship, and argued: "typical values such as mateship, are expunged of their racist, sexist elements."
"In many cases, particularly for refugees, people have come to Australia to escape danger, persecution and sometimes the risk of death, only to find that they then face mistrust and hatred here in Australia. There is in fact evidence of a serious gulf between the myth of 'a fair go' Australia and the reality. As a society we need to start taking responsibility for the intolerant and frequently ignorant nation we have become." UTS Shopfront Research Manager Dr Tanja Dreher It is interesting to speculate whether Ms Dreher believes that Australians had a fair go ethic in the past, and if so, whether immigrants not assimilating the ethic was the cause of Australia becoming an ignorant nation. This would imply that Ms Dreher believes immigration has made Australia more close-minded, rather than culturally richer. It is also interesting to speculate as to why Ms Dreher used the word 'we' when her writings don't seem to feel any sense of affinity with her fellow Australians. Furthermore, her writings don't seem to indicate that she personally feels that she is intolerant or ignorant, which calls into question why she has used the word 'we'. Ironically, the lack of affinity to her fellow Australians, and her lack of faith in her own ignorance, may indicate that Ms Dreher has made a myth of herself, which perhaps now needs to be deconstructed.
"Australia needs sudden shocks of reorientation within its society that will divorce it from the largely irrelevant problems of the British, make it possible to speed necessary changes and to develop some new sense of identity, some public feeling of being a people who can be described - even if incorrectly - as such-and-such a kind of nation, and act at times as if it were so." Donald Horne - The Lucky Country 1964 |
Cultural comparisons
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Mateship
